CL-2025-000062 - [2025] EWHC 1506 (Comm)

CPR 19.2(2) provides a wide power enabling the Court to order a person to be added as a new party if:

“(a)

it is desirable to add the new party so that the court can resolve all the matters in dispute in the proceedings; or

(b)

there is an issue involving the new party and an existing party which is connected to the matters in dispute in the proceedings, and it is desirable to add the new party so that the court can resolve that issue”

Authorities in this area tend to be very fact-specific, but themes emerge. In particular, in considering whether it is desirable to add a new party pursuant to CPR 19.2(2)(a) or (b), the “two lodestars” are the policy objective of enabling parties to be heard if a decision in the case may affect their rights and the Overriding Objective: RePablo Star Ltd[2017] EWCA Civ 1768 [2018] 1 WLR 738 (CA) [60].

As noted in Republic of Uganda v Rift Valley Railways (Uganda) Ltd(In Liquidation)[2020] EWHC 3653 (Comm) [30], CPR 19.2(2)(a) thus has two conditions or stages: (1) whether the new party can “assist the court to resolve the matters in dispute in the proceedings” (a jurisdictional test); and (2) whether it is desirable to add the new party to achieve that end (a discretion).

CPR 19.2(2)(b) has three conditions: (1) an issue between the new party and an existing party; (2) the issue is connected to the matters already in dispute in the proceedings: and (3) it is desirable to add the new party to resolve that issue: see Molavi v Hibbert[2020] EWHC 121 (Ch)[ 2020] 4 WLR 46 (Ch) [64].