WWF-UK & Ors, R (On the Application Of) v Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs & Anor

David Wolfe QC instructed by Jake White, Head of Legal WWF-UK, for the First Applicant/Claimant and Justin Neal, in-house solicitor Fish Legal, for the Second and Third Applicants/Claimants Richard Turney (instructed by the Government Legal Department) for the First Respondent / Defendant Andrew Parkinson (instructed by Legal Services) for the Second Respondent / Defendant The Interested Party did not appear and was not represented Hearing date: 16 June 2021 ____________________

By Article 11(8), the programme of measures was to be established no later than 9 years after the coming into force of the WFD and to be made operational no later than 12 years after that date.

i) When terms of settlement are reached, the proceedings are stayed on agreed terms which are scheduled to the order, save for the purpose of carrying such terms into effect.

ii) The agreed terms in the schedule are not part of the order, and cannot be directly enforced as if they were an order of the Court. In the event of an alleged breach of the agreed terms, a further application to the Court for an enforcement order is required ( Community Care North East v Durham CC [2012] 1 WLR 338 , per Ramsay J. at [23] � [26]). However, neither fresh proceedings nor an amendment to the pleadings are required ( Bostani v Pieper [2019] 4 WLR 44 , per Jacob J. at [57]).

iii) The agreed terms in the schedule are a binding contract between the parties. Applying contractual principles, the terms may be capable of rectification or may be held to be unenforceable, but generally, in the absence of express provision, they cannot be varied or set aside by the Court ( Community Care North East v Durham CC , per Ramsay J. at [24], [28] � 36]).