A nine-year legal saga involving racial discrimination is at last heading towards a conclusion after Glasgow City Council was severely criticised by three Court of Session judges.

The Judges remarked on the “grotesque length and complexity” of the case involving Clarence Bvunzai whose job application for the post of Director of a care home was rejected in favour of a less well-qualified, white candidate.

The judges also praised the involvement of the Free Legal Services Unit of the Faculty of Advocates which arranged for pro bono advice and representation to be provided for Mr Bvunzai by Iain Mitchell QC and Donald Campbell, both from the Murray stable, in the latest hearing before Lords Reed, Carloway and McEwan.

Delivering the opinion of the court Lord Reed said: “The appellant (Mr Bvunzai) conducted this appeal without legal assistance until the hearing itself when representation was arranged by the Faculty of Advocates.

“The willingness of counsel and solicitor to provide their services reflects the best traditions of the legal profession and was of great assistance to the court.”

Lord Reed said Glasgow Council had made it clear at the appeal that it intended to make a further application for expenses in addition to earlier awards when Mr Bvunzai had difficulty in focusing the basis of his case without legal assistance.

The judge added: “The practical effect of such awards is, of course, to whittle away the amount which Mr Bvunzai will eventually receive as compensation for having been the victim of racial discrimination at the hands of Glasgow City Council.”

The court judgment explained that Mr Bvunzai was a trained nurse with a diploma in social work. He had worked for Glasgow Council social work department since 1977 and held various posts involved with residential care of the elderly.

In 2000 he applied for the post of unit manager in a care home but was unsuccessful. He submitted an Employment Tribunal application in January 2001 claiming that he had been the victim of racial discrimination and in November 2003 was awarded £48,681.

Glasgow Council successfully took the case to the Employment Appeal Tribunal but Mr. Bvunzai won the subsequent appeal to the Court of Session. The case was remitted back to the Employment Tribunal for reassessment of damages, and has been through a number of tribunal and court hearings since then.

Lord Reed said four years had passed since the Court of Session had remitted what appeared to be a relatively straightforward question of calculating the appropriate amount of compensation.

He added: “The time and resources expended by the tribunal system and by the court, principally as a consequence of the position adopted by Glasgow Council, are disproportionate to the amount which in reality has been at stake between the parties since the issue of discrimination was finally resolved in Mr Bvunzai’s favour.

“The council’s undiminished appetite for further litigation was however apparent at the hearing of the present appeal.”

The Court of Session judges ruled in favour of Mr Bvunzai in his current appeal and decided that the Employment Appeal Tribunal had erred in law in its most recent decision in the case.

They sent the case back to the Employment Tribunal to recalculate the compensation due by Glasgow Council to Mr Bvunzai

The court rejected an application by Glasgow Council for a complete rehearing of the case before a differently constituted tribunal, stressing that great weight must be given to the need to avoid further delay.

Lord Reed added: “It is also, of course, necessary to secure a just result, but justice in the present case can best be achieved by ensuring that the compensation due to Mr Bvunzai is speedily assessed, even if the assessment is, in some respects imperfect.

“Rough justice can, in some circumstances, be the best justice available.”

Mungo Bovey, Convenor of the FLSU said: "The Faculty is very pleased that our pro bono unit has been of significant help to Mr Bvunzai in obtaining a satisfactory outcome from this long-running case."

This is the second case in which Mr. Mitchell has been involved on behalf of the Faculty Free Legal Services Unit, having recently provided an opinion for the Scottish Young Lawyers Association on the legal status of the traineeship contract and whether trainees can be made redundant.

The full decision can be read here.