SOS group withdraws application for appeal
The Save Our Society group has announced that it is to drop further legal action over the proposed new Charter.
Earlier this month, the SOS group applied to the Court of Appeal for
permission to
appeal against the High Court’s dismissal of its case against the
Royal Pharmaceutical Society and 16 members of Council. However, the
four SOS litigants said in a statement this week that they had decided
not to proceed with the appeal. The application for permission to appeal
has now been withdrawn.
Mark Koziol, one of the SOS claimants, commented: “It is clear
that while the legal process is still ongoing, any re-negotiation of
the Charter petition would be fruitless as the Government will not consider
the issue until all legal action had ceased.” He explained that
since the Privy Council has said that the petition will remain “on
ice” while the legal proceedings are ongoing, it would be perverse
to prolong the process through an appeal.
The news was welcomed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. The President,
Nicholas Wood, said: “I welcome the fact that the claimants have
taken this positive step. The Council is meeting this week to consider
potential changes to the draft Charter. A slip in the Department of Health’s
timetable for the issuing of the draft section 60 Order means that we
have an unexpected opportunity to re-evaluate our position on the Charter,” he
said.
“We can now do this without the possibility of continuing legal
action raising the temperature,” Mr Wood added. |
The
Pharmaceutical Journal
Acrobat
Reader