By Evarist Baimu Nyaga Mawalla - Home

applicants was that it was in the circumstances a requirement of community lawthat interim relief should be available. This was an additional point as to whichCommunity law was unclear so your Lordship House decided that that issueshould also snot be determined until after a reference under art 177. This meantthat pending the outcome of the second reference your Lordships had todetermine whether interm relef should be granted under domestic law.In deciding whether under domestic law interim relef should be granted LordBridge initially examined the position without reference to the involvement ofminister. He conclude that no relief could be granted since English lawunassisted by Community how treated legislation as fully effective until it was setaside. Lord bridge described the position in these words (19989) 2 All ER 692 at703, (1990) 2 AC 85 at 142 – 143):But an order granting the applicants the interm relief which they seek will onlyserve their pupose if it declares that which Parliament had enacted to be twhelaw from 1 December 1988, and to take effect in relation to vessels previouslyregisterd under the Merchant Shipping Act) 1894 from 31 March 1989, not to bethe law until some uncertain future date. Effective relief can onbly be given if itreguires the Secretay of Stage to treat the applicants vessels as entitled toregistration under Pt II of the 1988 Act in direct contravention of its provisions.Any such order, unlike any from of order for interim relief known to the law, wouldirreversibly determine in the applicants favour for a period of some two yearsrights which are necessarily uncertain unti the preliminary ruling of the European560