Civil Process Flashcards
What did Lord Woolf do?
In 1996 Woolf reviewed the civil process system and notes all the issues he found in The Lord Woolf Report.
What laws did this report lead to developing?
Civil Procedures Act 1997
Access to Justice Act 1999
What 6 problems did Woolf identify with the civil justice system?
- Expensive
- Delays
- Complex
- Adversarial
- Unjust
- Emphasis on oral evidence
What was the aim of the Civil Procedure Act 1997?
And what did it introduce?
To deal with cases justly by…
A) Ensuring parties are on an equal footing
B) Saving expenses
C) Dealing with the case in ways which are proportionate to the amount of money involved, to the importance of the case, to the complexity of issues, to the financial position of each party.
D) Ensuring that it is dealt with quickly and fairly
E) Giving each case sufficient resources, while taking into account the need to allot resources to other cases.
What did the Acces to justice act 1999 introduce?
5 Major reforms which helped to make the Civil procedure rules happen.
What are the 5 reforms introduced by the Acess to Justice Act 1999?
- Simplified procedure
- Pre-action protocols
- Case Management
- Sanctions
- 3 Track system
What is included in Reform 1: Simplified procedure?
How it changes suing and terminology.
- Provides a common procedural code for the County and High court.
- Previously there were 2 seperate system for suing someone depending on where the case was started, this was confusing for claimants.
- Following the act there is now only one route of suing - filling in the N1 claim form.
- Made it much easier for claimants to understand.
What is included in Reform 2 : Pre-action protocols?
- Encourage parties to exchange as much information as early as possible
- be in contact with eachother
- cooperate when exchanging information
- Overall aim is to get parties to settle outside of court, reducing costs and delays.
What is included in Reform 3 : Case management?
Judge is the case manager
- Judges become the managers of the cases,
- with proactive power to set timetables and sanction for parties which do not cooperate.
- aim is to pass the management of the case and not to a parties as it will put the parties on equal footing, improving efficiency.
What is included in Reform 4 : Sanctions?
- As judges are case managers, they have the power to give sanctions where parties do not follow timetables they set or delay unnecessarily.
- 2 Main sanctions are:
1. Adverse awards of costs
2. Order for a case to be struck out
What is the 3 track system?
Categorises each claim by Value, the court it should be tried at, and if legal representation is required.
- Small claims
- Fast track
- Multi track
What are Small claims?
- Value is up to £10,000
- (£1000 for personal injury)
- Heard in a county court
- Legal representation is not recommended
What are Fast Track claims?
- £10,000-25,000
- (1,000-15,000 for personal injury)
- County court
- Optional to use legal representation
What is a Multi track claim?
- Over £25,000
- Over £15,000 for personal injury
- County or High court
- Legal representation is recommended
How do you start a claim?
- Pre action protocol (ADR)
- Claim form (N1)
- Defence has 14 days to:
(N9) Acknowledgement of services
-Admit claim
-Dispute claim
-Ignore it - Questionnaire for allocation (3 track system)
- Case management conference
- Pre-trial admission
-Disclosure of evidence
-Witnesses
-Experts - Trial
What is a part 36? (relating to how to claim)
An offer to settle any time
What is Part 35?
The D and the C agree on a joint expert
