Litigation
Civil Litigation article - CPR Rules and “Access to Justice”
Since 26th April 1999 Civil Litigation in England and Wales is governed by the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). The CPR came into force subsequent of the “ACCESS TO JUSTICE” Final Report submitted to the Lord Chancellor in July 1996 following the enquiry into the civil justice system by The Right Honourable the Lord Woolf, Master of the Rolls. The CPR rules were introduced in order to improve access to justice and improve the litigation process and are also known as the Woolf Reforms.
The overriding objective of the CPR (Rule 1.1) is to; enable the court to deal with cases justly; ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing; saving expense; dealing with the case in a proportionate way; ensuring that cases are dealt with expeditiously and fairly and allotting to a case an appropriate share of the court’s resources, while taking into account the need to allot resources to other cases.
Part of the Woolf Reforms is the development of Pre Action Protocols. Since implementation, parties are expected to follow the protocol to the extent that the Court has the power to impose costs order against a party for failing to comply. There are number of Pre Action Protocols designed to deal with different areas of law but in essence they all aim to achieve;
1. more pre-action contact between the parties
2. better and earlier exchange of information
3. better pre-action investigation by both sides
4. to put the parties in a position where they may be able to settle cases fairly and early without litigation.
5. to enable proceedings to run to the court’s timetable and efficiently, if litigation does become necessary
6. to promote the provision of medical or rehabilitation treatment (not just in high value cases) to address the needs of the claimant
Although the CPR is designed to recourse to the court as the last resort, if a resolution cannot be reached and litigation appears to be the only option, then court proceedings may commence. This is called litigation which is a process for resolving public and private legal disputes on civil matters through negotiation or through the courts.
The procedure, time frame and appropriate jurisdiction will depend on the nature, complexity and value of the claim and the track to which it is allocated. Under the CPR judges have a much wider management powers to ensure cases are handled in the best possible way. It is therefore very difficult at an early stage to predict costs in any helpful way.
Although procedure may vary, in general terms the outline of a claim under the CPR is as follows;
1. Claimant issues the Claim with Particulars of Claim
2. Claim is served on Defendant
3. Defendant has 14 days to acknowledge and further 14 days to enter his Defence/Counterclaim/admission.
4. The court will send an allocation questionnaire to assist the judge in determining to which track the claim should be allocated
5. The Claimant may reply to the defence if so advised
6. Case Management Conference or standard directions leading to trial
7. Disclosure of documents
8. Exchange of Witness Statements
9. Expert evidence (if necessary)
10. Pre Trail Check List
11. Trial
When instructed we endeavour to advise clients on the merits of the case as well as costs concerns and benefits and proportionality with a view to direct clients on both how best to conduct their case as well as making the right commercial decision.
If you are involved in a dispute and wish to discuss your possible liabilities and/or remedies please do not hesitate to contact us and we would be happy to advise and represent you.
Please contact Raanan Berlad for further information.