BL-2021-002235 - [2025] EWHC 1966 (Ch)

I turn now to consider the relevant law. I begin with that relating to court orders. CPR rule 40.2 relevantly provides that:

“(1)

Every judgment or order must state the name and judicial title of the person who made it…

(2)

Every judgment or order must –

(a)

bear the date on which it is given or made; and

(b)

be sealed by the court.”

In this rule, the phrase “judgment or order” has a technical meaning derived from the history of civil procedure: see Civil Procedure, 2025, para 40.1.1, and Onslow v Commissioners of Inland Revenue (No 2) (1890) 25 QBD 465, 466. In that phrase, “judgment” does not refer to the reasons given by the judge for the court’s decision (which is the usual meaning of judgment today). Instead, it has a similar meaning to “order”, that is, the formal document recording the decision of the court. The important thing to notice from rule 40.2, however, is that there is no requirement that the judge sign the “judgment or order”. Accordingly, a judgment or order is not invalid because there is no judicial signature on it. It is the seal that authenticates the order.