---

Company Law Reform Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. A155:"Page 305, line 4, at end insert ““whether pursuant to a decision or ruling of the Panel or otherwise””" The noble Lord said: In Clause 630 we are looking at enforcement by the court of the panel’s ruling. Amendment No. A155 is put forward on the advice of the Law Society, and is designed to clarify that the procedures that allow the panel to seek enforcement of its rule decisions by the court are not designed to create a forum in which the matters underlying the panel’s decision are required to be re-examined. Clause 630 is intended to provide a mechanism to the panel to apply to the court to enforce a rule decision or request for information. The Department of Trade and Industry envisages that on such an application a court would not consider it appropriate to re-hear the merits of the case. However, the drafting of ““rule-based requirement”” is ambiguous because it does not explicitly refer to the panel’s decisions. It is open to litigants to argue that the section requires the court to consider whether or not a ruling of the panel has been breached, but in each case to consider whether the underlying rule has been breached. The proposed amendment attempts to clarify the wording of the clause, in keeping with its aim, in order to dissipate the substantial risk of litigation re-testing the rules for decisions of the panel. Without this amendment, we are concerned that those subject to rulings may force the panel to seek such orders under Clause 630 to create an opportunity to have the original decision challenged in court. I beg to move.