Bobby Talalay appears in Judicial Review in challenge to the MoD’s Service Complaints process

Bobby Talalay appeared for the Defendant in a judicial review concerning the correct approach for the Ministry of Defence to take when considering causation and quantum in military Service Complaints: R (Flight Sergeant (Ret’d) Eyton-Hughes) v Secretary of State for Defence [2024] EWHC 1932 (Admin).

The Claimants had both retired from the RAF and contended that they had done so because of the way they had been treated when the subject of a Service Complaint. They themselves then brought Service Complaints seeking redress for their losses, including significant substantive amounts to compensate them for the loss of their careers. The Claimants’ complaints were upheld, but they were awarded consolatory damages of £3,000, rising to £3,500 on appeal, and not the £100,000s sought. The main finding of the RAF Appeal Body, relying on the Claimants’ positive SJARs, was that the losses sought were not caused by the original Service Complaint into them, as it was not objectively reasonable for the officers to have concluded that their careers were over so that they had to retire.

The judgment of the Administrative Court contains a comprehensive analysis of the legislative and policy structure of the Service Complaints system. The Judge went on to reject the claims on the bases that: (1) the Appeal Body had the power to make redress for post-termination losses, (2) the Appeal Body did not err in approaching causation by reference to a ‘reasonableness’ test, and that it was not helpful to try and import causation tests from other areas of law, (3) the Appeal Body’s decision not to make any substantive quantified award in these cases was rational, (4) there was no error of process in how it went about it and (5) even if the Defendant had made any procedural error, it would not have made any substantial difference to the result.

The ruling marks an important and comprehensive statement of the principles to be applied to claims arising from the MoD’s Service Complaints process and confirms the breadth of evaluative discretion afforded to the Decision and Appeal Bodies in assessing causation and quantum in Service Complaints.

Bobby Talalay was instructed on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence.

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Related barristers

Robert Talalay

Call 2010

Related areas

Professional Discipline & Regulatory

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