civil pre-trial procedures Flashcards
what three civil pre-trial procedures are looked at in more detail?
pleadings, discovery of documents, directions hearing.
what are the four main purposes of civil pre-trial procedures?
promoting procedural fairness, encouraging a pre-trial settlement between the parties, providing the court with a written record of the case before the trial begins, and clarifying the issues in dispute.
what is ‘promoting procedural fairness’?
- informing parties about the other side’s case.
- allowing them to prepare their case adequately.
what is ‘encouraging a pre-trial settlement between the parties?
- parties come to mutually agreed compromise.
- saves the time and cost of a trial.
what is ‘providing the court with a written record of the case before the trial begins’?
- allows the court to understand the issues involved so it can manage the pre-trial and trial procedures, give directions.
what is ‘clarifying the issues in dispute’?
- might result in some issues being conceded or agreed on by the parties, therefore limiting the scope of the trial to only the issues in dispute, faster trial.
what are pleadings?
a series of legal documents filed with the court and exchanged between the parties.
what are the two main documents in pleadings?
- the statement of claim, filed with the court by the plaintiff and sets out in detail the claims made against the defendant and the remedy sought.
- the defence, filed with the court by the defendant and sets out the defendant’s response to each of the plaintiff’s claims.
what is the discovery of documents?
this procedure involves each party providing a list to the other party of all the documents they have that are relevant to the case.
what is a directions hearing?
a pre-trial hearing held before a judge, who may give any direction for the conduct of the proceeding which they think will assist in a prompt and economical determination of the case.
