Harding v Wealands

Harding v Wealands is a case in which the House of Lords determined the applicable law for assessing damages in a personal injury claim arising from a motor accident in New South Wales, Australia. The key issue was whether damages for personal injury caused by negligent driving should be calculated according to the applicable law selected under Part III of the Private International Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 1995 or whether it was a question of procedure to be determined in accordance with English law. The Court of Appeal had held, by a majority, that the applicable law was the law of New South Wales. However, the House of Lords, by a unanimous decision, allowed the appeal and restored the judgment of Elias J, holding that the assessment of damages was a matter of procedure governed by English law. The court considered the distinction between substantive law, which determines liability, and procedural law, which governs the assessment of damages, and concluded that the provisions of the Motor Accidents Compensation Act 1999 of New South Wales, which imposed limitations on the amount of damages recoverable, were procedural and thus inapplicable by an English court. The House of Lords also relied on the statement made by the Lord Chancellor during the passage of the bill, which clearly indicated Parliament's intention to preserve the traditional rule that the assessment of damages was governed by the law of the forum.