Introduction to Part 36 Flashcards
What is the purpose of Part 36?
It encourages parties to settle by offering a system of financial incentives and penalties.
What does Part 36 state?
- Describes a kind of offer that a party can make.
- Sets out the consequences if an offer of that kind is made and accepted.
- Sets out different consequences if an offer of that kind is made and not accepted and the matter proceeds to trial.
What is the advantage of Pat 36?
The advantage of Part 36 is that the financial incentives contained within it are more certain than the court’s general discretion and go beyond what the court can generally order.
What is the general rationale behind Part 36?
Parties who make realistic proposals to settle actions should get some benefit if these are not accepted and it turns out, at trial, that they should have been accepted. A party who is ‘dragged to trial’ having tried to be reasonable should be ‘compensated’, and an unreasonable party who insists on a trial should be subject to a penalty.
When can a Part 36 offer be made?
It can be made at any stage of the proceedings, including before proceedings are issued.
Who can make a Part 36 offer?
Either party.
What does it mean that Part 36 is a self-contained procedural code?
Part 36 governs offers made pursuant to the procedure set out in Part 36. The normal contractual rules of offer and acceptance do not apply. The rules that govern the Part 36 offer are set out within Part 36 itself.
What is a Calderbank offer?
An offer, usually communicated in writing, and written `without prejudice save as to costs’. Such an offer does not need to comply with Part 36. Therefore, it will not have the same consequences of a Part 36 offer, but the court will consider it when exercising its discretion in relation to costs.
