The Civil Procedure Rules Twenty Years On

2020 ◽  
pp. 3-24
Author(s):  
Damien Byrne Hill ◽  
Maura McIntosh
Keyword(s):  
Justice System ◽  
Civil Procedure ◽  
Civil Litigation ◽  
Reform Process ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Witness Statements ◽  
Civil Justice System

Cost and delay have always been the two great challenges facing the civil justice system. Lord Woolf sought to address these issues with his recommendations, which were largely implemented in the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) twenty years ago. Lord Justice Jackson again took up the challenge in his Review of Civil Litigation Costs ten years later, leading to further significant reforms. But the reform process is far from over, with the rules on disclosure and witness statements currently in the spotlight. This chapter considers how the CPR and the various reforms have worked in practice from the perspective of the commercial solicitor, and whether more needs to be done to address the challenges.

scholarly journals The new Civil Procedure Rules. 1. The process of dispute resolution and litigation

2000 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-158 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Rix
Keyword(s):  
Dispute Resolution ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Expert Witness ◽  
Civil Procedure ◽  
Previous Article ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
England And Wales ◽  
Key Points ◽  
Civil Justice System

In the second of my previous two articles on the role of the expert witness, I anticipated the implementation of Lord Woolf's proposed reforms to the civil justice system in England and Wales (Rix, 1999). These changes came into effect on 26 April 1999 and they represent the most radical changes to the civil justice system for a hundred years. In the previous article, it was not possible to do more than list a few of the key points relevant to experts. The purpose of this article is to describe the changes in detail and show how they will, or can be expected to, affect the role of the expert.

The Civil Procedure Rules at 20

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Human Rights ◽  
Empirical Research ◽  
Judicial Review ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Civil Procedure ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Permanent Record ◽  
Collective Redress ◽  
20Th Anniversary ◽  
Civil Justice System

The book provides a series of presentations and papers to mark the 20th anniversary of the CPR coming into force, many of which were delivered orally at the CPR at 20 Conference at the Bonavero Institute of Human Rights, Mansfield College, Oxford in 2019. The presentations and papers have been edited and extended to provide a permanent record available to a wider audience. The book considers the successes and failures of the CPR, and current challenges faced by those designing, administering and using the civil justice system. It covers a range of topics including: the digitisation of the civil justice system, the overriding objective, principles of proportionality, disclosure, collective redress, judicial review rules, closed material proceedings and costs and funding rules. The book contains doctrinal, theoretical and empirical research and analysis about the use of the civil procedure rules and the civil justice system more broadly.

Compliance Problems and Digitizing Case Management in England and Wales

2020 ◽  
pp. 153-178
Author(s):  
John Sorabji
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Case Management ◽  
Civil Procedure ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Reform Programme ◽  
Effective Operation ◽  
Compliance Problem ◽  
Civil Justice System ◽  
Civil Courts ◽  
Potential Use

Compliance with case management orders has been a hidden problem undermining the effective operation of the Civil Procedure Rules. The focus of academic critique has, however, been on the adverse consequences to their effective operation of non-compliance with such orders. This chapter considers this unexamined problem of case management: the compliance problem. It first examines the nature of the compliance problem, placing it within the context of the wider and substantially explored problem of non-compliance; the latter having formed a major limb of Zuckerman’s critique of English civil procedure. It then explores how current and potential future reforms to the English civil justice system arising from HMCTS reform programme, the Civil Courts Structure review, digitization and the potential use of artificial intelligence (AI) could overcome this unexplored problem.

Referral fees – the business of access to justice

Legal Studies ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 32 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-131 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Higgins
Keyword(s):  
Justice System ◽  
Public Funding ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Access To Justice ◽  
Legal Services ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Better Regulation ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right ◽  
Civil Justice System

The paper examines the controversial issue of referral fees for personal injury claims. It looks at the function of referral fees in the civil justice system, their relationship to the guarantees of access to court and the right to seek legal assistance in ECHR Art 6, and the debate about promoting access to justice or a litigious society. It examines the experience of the referral fees market in England and Wales, where the costs of referrals have risen dramatically and there is concern that referrers are auctioning their customers to the highest bidder rather than helping them find competent lawyers. Sir Rupert Jackson recommended banning referral fees in his report on the costs of civil litigation, and the Government has announced it will implement this recommendation. The paper considers the potential effects of a ban on competition in the legal services market and its compatibility with UK and EU competition law. The paper argues that a combination of better regulation of the industry and proper regulation of costs rules is a better and more proportionate way of controlling legal costs and the quality of legal services than an outright ban. While referral fees have not delivered all the benefits one would expect from a for-profit independent referrals service, they can help people obtain information about their legal rights, and competent lawyers to enforce them. This service is particularly valuable given that the state has substantially cut public funding of the civil justice system in recent years.

Lay Expectations of the Civil Justice System

1988 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 137 ◽  
Author(s):  
William M. O'Barr ◽  
John M. Conley
Keyword(s):  
Justice System ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Civil Justice System

scholarly journals The American medical liability system: An alliance between legal and medical professionals can promote patient safety and be cost effective

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 97
Author(s):  
Steven E. Pegalis
Keyword(s):  
Patient Safety ◽  
Justice System ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
The United States ◽  
Medical Liability ◽  
Legal Rights ◽  
Medical Professionals ◽  
Civil Justice ◽  
Culture Of Safety ◽  
Civil Justice System

Objective: The aim of this paper is to evaluate a hypothesis premised on the idea that if medical leaders in the United States support an unfettered access for patients injured by medical error to the American civil justice system, that approach would improve patient safety and be cost effective. Method: An analysis of the relevant legal and medical literature. Results: Medical liability in the American civil justice system derived from traditional tort law is based on accountability. Reforms applied to medical liability cases urged by healthcare providers limit and in some cases eliminate legal rights of patients injured by healthcare error which rights exist for all others in non-medical cases. Yet medical liability cases have promoted a culture of safety. Information learned from medical liability cases has been used to make care safer with a reduced incidence of adverse outcomes and lower costs. A just culture of safety can limit provider emotional stress. Using the external pressures to reduce the incidence of law suits and promoting ethical mandates to be safer and disclose the truth can promote provider satisfaction. Conclusions: An alliance between legal and medical professionals on the common ground of respect for the due process legal rights of patients in the American system of justice and the need for accountability can make care safer and can be cost effective.

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