Cooper v Attorney General

On 12th May the Court of Appeal handed down judgment in the first case in which the English courts have considered the principles of Köbler liability in damages for errors of EC law by the domestic courts.  The case relates to two decisions of the Court of Appeal in 1999 in proceedings alleging defects in the Environmental Impact Assessment procedure for the Westfield shopping centre in White City.  The Court of Appeal dismissed Mr Cooper's appeal, holding that while there had been material errors of EC law in the earlier decisions of the English Court of Appeal, they had not been sufficiently serious to found Köbler liability.

James Eadie QC was leading counsel for the Respondent, and Emma Dixon was junior counsel for the Appellant.