civil courts and processes

Question 1

What statute governs the procedures for the civil justice system?

Answer 1

Beacuse of the reforms by Lord woold the Access to Justice Act 1999 governs the civil procedures

Question 2

What is the civil court hierarchy like ?

Answer 2

county court - High court/ queens bench division/ family division and chancery division - the court of appeal - the supreme court

Question 3

Why was the civil procedure rules 1998 implemented?

Answer 3

• the civil procedure rules act 1988 was implemented to ensure that civil cases where dealt with justly , this was implemented along side the access to justice act 1999 in response to the woolf report

Question 4

What is the WOOLF REPORT?

Answer 4

• The woolf report was created by Lord woolf in response to the long delays and unacceptable expenses which he sought to simplify. In which the civil procedure rules act 1998 overhauled civil processes which ensured parties adhered to the principes

Question 5

What is the WOOLF REPORT?

Answer 5

• The woolf report was created by Lord woolf in response to the long delays and unacceptable expenses which he sought to simplify. In which the civil procedure rules act 1998 overhauled civil processes which ensured parties adhered to the principes

Question 6

What is an Pre action protocol?

Answer 6

• A pre action protocol is a procedure that need to be followed before a claimant can begin civil action
• The pre action protocol states that the defendant must receive a letter explaining how the claim arises, why the other party is deemed to be at fault and details of any injury or damage.
• D is given three months investigate the claim and reply setting out whether liability is admitted or denied.

-

Question 7

What is the aim of the pre action protocol

Answer 7

• allow cases to be dealt with as quickly, justly and cheaply as possible;
• ensure both parties have access to the documents and information they need at an early stage;
• encourage the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), such as mediation and arbitration;

Question 8

What courts hear civil cases according to the access to justice act 1999?

Answer 8

Country court and the high court that hear civil cases

Question 9

Distinguish the diffrence and what type of cases are heard in the county court and the high court

Answer 9

• a claim for 25000 or less must be stated in the county court
• claims for personal injury up to 50,000 must be started in the high court
• for claims over 25,000 a claimant can consider the most coinvent court

Question 10

What has lord woolf stated about settlements

Answer 10

he has urged parties to use methods of adr eg in HASLEY V MILTON KEYNES GENERAL NHS TRUST - however echr has underminded lord woolf and stated that parties cannot be forced to use adr

Question 11

What is needed for a claimant to claim?

Answer 11

• A pre action protocol

- and an N1 form if a dispute cannot be settled the courts issue proceedings by completing an N1 form

Question 12

under part 27 of the cpr 1998 what were the three tracks laid down that had resulted from woolf reforms?

Answer 12

• Small claims track , for claims under 10,000 except for persona injury and housing where the limit is 1,000 - ADv - costs of proceedings are low , you can represent yourself , if there is a loss no need to pay the other sides costs , DISAV - if win only 60% of claimants manged to get all money awarded from courts
• fast track - for straightforward disputes between 10,000 and 25,00 - cases heard within 30weeks and by a circuit judge 1 expert witness is allowed- ADV, district judge helps parties explain their case - DISADV - district judges not historically good at helping unrepresented claimants
• Multi track- cases over 25,000 or complex cases under 25,000 . if a case is not allocated to fast track or small claims will be allocated here. this reinforces lord woolfs aim of cases to be passed through the county court and the high court

Question 13

Who makes the decision on what track to use?

Answer 13

• The district judge

Question 14

explain what is meant by defending a claim.

Answer 14

• this refers to the aftermath of the d reciving the claim form they can
• defendant may calim and pay up in full( which would end the matter)
• ## d can dispute the claim by sending a acknoledgment of service form N9 qithin 14 days

Question 15

show the way a civil claim would be handled

Answer 15

1. Pre action protocol
2. claim for n1
3. Defence
4. direction/ allocation of cases
5. case management conference
6. pre- trial administration
7. Trial

Question 16

What cases are heard in the county court?

Answer 16

• contract law cases
• tort cases involving personal injury
  land law cases etc
• ims Court is a subdivision of the county court and hears cases to the value of £10,000.

Question 17

What are the three divisions in the high court

Answer 17

1) QUEENS BENCH DIVISISION- HERES mainly contract and tort cases
3) Chancery division- hears cases involving the enforcemnt of mortgages, disputes relating to trust , property etc
4 Family division - all cases relating to the children act 1989 , declarations of nillity , marriage etc

Question 18

What are some remedies in the civil cases? for damages

Answer 18

• the courts aim to put the claimant in the position they would be in before the claim happened
• special damages - refers to the ability for damages to be calculated specifically
• calculation of loss of earning and futre loss/ pain and suffering

Exemplary damages – also known as punitive damages – they are designed to punish the defendant and not just compensate the claimant

Question 19

What is meant by equitable remedies?

Answer 19

• These types of remedies are awarded at the discretion of the court. The major equitable remedies are injunctions, specific performance, rescission and rectification. which include
• specific performance- contract should be carried out as agreed
• rescission - return parties as far as possible to the pre contract position
• rectification- s a court order that a document should be altered to reflect the parties’ intention. The court will grant such an order only where it is satisfied that a mistake was made in drawing up the document so that it is not a true version of what the parties agreed.

Question 20

Explain the appeal process

Answer 20

Appeal routes are set out in Part 52 of the Civil Procedure Rules

appeals from the country court- For Fast track cases heard by a District judge, the appeal is heard by a Circuit Judge
For Fast track cases heard by a Circuit judge, the appeal is heard by a High Court judge
For multi-track cases heard in the County Court, either by a Circuit judge or a District judge, the appeal goes to the Court of Appeal

Appeals from small claims- The right to appeal was brought in October 2000 in order to comply with European Convention on Human Rights.

• The appeal route is the same as for fast track cases i.e. an appeal is to the next judge up in the hierarchy, so if a case is tried by a District Judge, an appeal is to a Circuit Court judge or if heard by a Circuit Court judge the appeal is to a High Court judge.
• second Appeals

In exceptional cases there is a possible further appeal to the Court of Appeal provided certain conditions are met under s55 Access to Justice Act 1999. S55 says an appeal to the Court of Appeal cannot be made unless the Court of Appeal considers that:

1. the appeal would raise an important point of principle or practice or
2. there is some other compelling reason for the Court of Appeal to hear it

Question 21

What is the civil justice system used for ?

Answer 21

settle disputes between private individuals, private individuals and companies or a dispute can arise between companies.

Question 22

Give some characteristics of what is heard in the country court

Answer 22

• A claim for £25,000 or less must be started in the County Court.
• Personal injury cases up to 50,000 must be started in the County Court.
• or most claims over £25,000 a claimant will be able to choose the most convenient court.

Question 23

Can there be transfers from one court to another ?

Answer 23

yes - Once a decision is made to sue, a decision has to be made on the appropriate court to use

• that parties can postpone proceedings for one month to attempt to settle the dispute using an alternative method of dispute resolution.

Question 24

What is the significance of the case of Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust

Answer 24

The ECHR said that the parties cannot be forced to use ADR as this contravenes their right to a fair trial thereby undermining Woolf’s objective of utilising ADR.

Question 25

What are characteristics for cases heard in the high court ?

Question 26

Explain the civil claim process

Answer 26

1. pre action protocol
2. Claim form n1
3. Defence
4. case allocation to tracks
5. Case management conference
   6 pre- trial administration
6. trial

Question 27

What are some advantages of the civil system

Answer 27

• Costs have been driven down. The Access to Justice Act 1999 restricts this in several ways. Firstly strict timetable can be imposed. For example with the fast track system the case has to be heard within 20 – 30 weeks. The trial is also heard in one day and expert witnesses are limited to only one. All of this helps to speed up the system and keep costs down.
• The multi-track system enables flexibility in terms of allocation. This means that now cases can be allocated according to complexity.
  This speeds up the system making it more efficient will enable it to be cheaper for the parties involved. Woolf cited one claim for £2,000 which came to £69,295 in fees.
• Greater control of ruthless lawyers due to case management. With more complicated cases, judges have been made case managers in order maximise efficiency and to stop lawyers from deliberate delays.

Question 28

What are some disadvantages of the civil system

Answer 28

• The new system is complicated - ld terminology has simply been replaced with new terminology The system is as complicated as ever. Peter Thompson QC states that under the old rules there were 391 pages of procedure and now there are 2,301 pages with 49 updates.
• rofessor Zander argues that the delay remains the same despite the introduction of fixed date trials. He argues that there is much inefficiency in the court administration process which is something that Woolf did not account for. The reforms may have helped to reduce the problems caused by lawyers but it has not addressed the administrative problems that prevent court efficiency.
• Costs- the costs of proceedings far outweigh the amount being payed. this is unfair and can encourage society to not seek justice if there damages are going outweigh the cost. This is evident in the high court specifically