8) Civil Process

Question 1

Who reviewed the law and outlined all the problems

Answer 1

Lord Woolf 1996
- The Lord Woolf Report

Question 2

What two things did the Lord Woolf Report lead to

Answer 2

• Civil Procedure Rules / Act 1997
• Access to Justice Act 1999

Question 3

How many problems did Lord Woolf outline and what were they

Answer 3

6 main problems
1. Expensive
2. Delays
3. Complex
4. Adversarial
5. Unjust
6. Relied too heavily on oral evidence

Question 4

What did the civil procedures act/rules outline in short

Answer 4

How the system should be run

Question 5

What was the overriding objective of the Civil procedures act 1997

Answer 5

Deal with cases justly through
a) equal footing b) save expense
c) proportionate d) quick + fair e) sufficient resources

Question 6

What did the Access to Justice Act implement

Answer 6

5 Reforms
1) Simplified procedure e.g N1 form, Plaintiff - Claimant
2) Pre-action protocols, encouraging cooperation, settling outside of court
3) Case management, judges become case managers, able to impose timetables, sanctions etc
4) Sanctions, adverse award of costs or struck out case
5) Three track system

Question 7

What are the three tracks and their monetary limits

Answer 7

Small claims, up to £10,000
Fast track, £10,000 - £25,000
Multi-track, £25,000 +

Question 8

Steps of starting a claim

Answer 8

Pre-action protocols (e.g ADR)
Claim Form (N1)
Defence (14 days to act, admit/claim/ignore)
Allocation questionnaire (which of the 3 tracks)
Case management conference
Pre-trial administration (disclosure/witness/expert)
Trial