Pragmatism and Theory in English Law - College of Social Sciences ...

48 The Strengths of the Pragmatic Tradition
the whole period, but at half the usual interest rate, which
of course is mathematically and logically exactly the same
thing. The courts have been disinclined to depart from this
approach even where the greater part of the special
damages is attributable to a substantial and quantifiable
wage loss several years before the accident. 4 And there are
other sorts of cases apart from personal injuries in which the
courts have rejected the use of "excessive logical refinement"
in the assessment of damages as "impracticable." 5 Is
this approach really illogical? Clearly not in the correct
sense. And the reason why it is not illogical is of some
general importance.
It is not illogical because the law has other objectives
besides those more detailed objectives I have referred to
above about the purpose of interest awards. One of these
other objectives is the efficient administration of justice,
including both the trial of cases by the courts, and the provision
of a framework in which disputing parties can settle
their claims with the minimum cost and difficulty. Now the
desire to avoid excessive detail in the calculation of interest
rates on special damages clearly illustrates how this general
objective of the judicial process qualifies the more detailed
objectives concerning the award of interest in personal
injury cases. Efficiency in the administration of justice
requires that we do not spend more money trying to work
out what damages to award than the amount of damages
themselves. But it will be seen at once how this also illustrates
a much more general difficulty about the use of logic
in the law which can affect almost any decision on any sub-
4 See, e.g. Dexter v. Courtaulds Ltd. [1984] 1 All E.R. 70.
5 See, e.g. KcrrJ. in Kyprianou v. W. H. Pirn & Co. Ltd. [1977] 2 Lloyd's
Rep. 570, at p. 580.