Law LA1: The Civil Justice System The Civil Justice System Unit 1 - AS

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Describe the civil court system Explain the civil justice system before 1999 & identify the problems with the civil justice system before 1999 Explain the civil justice system after 1999 & the Civil Procedure Rules 1999 Explain what is meant by pre-action protocols, ADR, case management, the three tracks & disclosure Explain the sanctions available to enforce the new rules Identify problems with the current system & suggest reforms Objectives

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System What is Civil law? Is a private matter It is a dispute between individuals, or organisations It does not involve the police It is usually settled by payment of money – compensation It very rarely results in imprisonment The person bringing the case is called the claimant; the person who the case is against is called the defendant The claimant has to prove the defendant is in the wrong- the burden of proof is on the balance of probabilities Civil Law

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Taking your neighbour to court over a large tree which cuts out your light A celebrity suing a newspaper for printing a defamatory article Claiming damages from an accident at work Suing a company who have sold you faulty goods A car accident victim suing the driver for compensation One business suing another for payment due on goods supplied Examples of Civil Law

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Major changes to the civil justice system: Civil Justice Review 1988 Courts & Legal Services Act 1990 Lord Woolf’s report - Access to Justice 1996 Civil Procedure Act 1997 Civil Procedure Rules 1999 Civil Law

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System 300 county courts – exclusively civil High Court - 3 divisions - act as separate courts: 1.QBD- contract, tort ( some criminal appeals) 1.Chancery – finance and property 1.Family – marriage, family, divorce, children, adoption and wills Civil Courts

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Court of Appeal (Civil Division) Supreme Court County court, Contract, Tort Divorce, Bankruptcy, Insolvency Property Matters Civil Court Structure

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Privy Council European Court of Justice Supreme Court Court of Appeal High Court County Court Leapfrog appeal European Court of Human Rights Civil Court System

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System 2 separate sets of rules: 1.‘White Book’ – High Court & Court of Appeal 2.‘Green Book’ – County courts The System Before 1999

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Lord Woolf – Access to Justice Report 1996 Expensive Delays Complex Adversarial Inefficient Problems with the System Before 1999

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System BY THE COURTS BY ADR PROBLEMS Expensive Delays Complex Adversarial Inefficient WOOLF REFORMS Three-track system Encourage ADR Time limits Judicial case Negotiation Parties Informal management themselves Cheapest Quickest Mediation/ Conciliation Third Party facilities Cheap Quick Arbitration More formal Expensive Binding (Arbitration Act 1996) The Civil Justice System Before 1999

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System The Civil Justice System Civil justice has always been seen as too expensive and too complex, with long delays. In 1999 the Woolf Reforms of the civil justice system tried to address these problems.

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System The three tracks: 1.Small claims track – this is for most cases under £5000. Note that the normal limit for housing disrepair cases and personal injury cases is £1000, while illegal eviction and harassment cases are excluded from the small claims track. 2.Fast track cases – these are claims for between £5000 and £15,000, although cases of this amount involving a complex point of law can be allocated to the multi-track. 3.Multi-track cases – these are claims over £15,000, or complex cases for less than this amount. All cases that are defended are allocated to one of three tracks: The Court Structure

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System 1.There are two civil courts that hear cases at first instance. These are the County Court and the High Court. 2. The County Court hears all small claims cases and all fast track cases, County Court, which are designated as Civil Trial Centres, can also deal with multi-track cases above £15,000. However, unless the parties agree, cases above £50,000 in value are not usually tried in the county court. The Civil Courts

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System 3.The High Court has three divisions: Queens Bench Division – for contract and tort claims; there are also special courts in the Commercial Lists, Technology and Construction Lists, and in the Admiralty Court Chancery Division – for disputes involving matters such as mortgages, trusts, copyright and patents; winding up of companies is dealt with by the Companies Court within this Division Family Division – for family-related disputes, ward ship cases and cases relating to children under the Children's Act The Civil Courts

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System 1.The Civil Procedure Rules 1999 sets out the rules for each stage of a case. 2.The overriding objective of the Rules is to enable the court to deal with the case justly by: Insuring that the parties in any case are on an equal footing Dealing with cases in a way which is proportionate to the amount involved and the importance of the case. 3. Parties are encouraged to disclosed the facts of their case prior to starting any court case. For some types of claim (e.g. personal injury) a pre-action protocol must be followed. 4. All claims for less than £15,000 must be started in the County Court. Claims for more than this amount can be started in either the High Court or the County Court except personal injury claims for less than £50,000, which must be started in the County Court. 5.Most types of claim are started by issuing a Part 7 claim form. Particulars of a claim must be included on the claim form, or attached to it, or served separately within 14 days of the claim form being served. Procedure in Outline

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System 6. There must also be a statement of truth as to the facts in the particulars of the claim. 7. The claim form and the particulars of the claim must be served on the defendant. This may be done by the court or the claimant and can be served personally, by post, by fax, by e- mail or other electronic means. 8. The defendant has 14 days in which to respond. A defendant may: –pay the claim; –admit or partly admit it; –file acknowledgement of service (but then must file a defence within another 14 days); –file a defence. 9. A defence that just denies the claim is not sufficient; it should be more specific 10. At any point before or after the commencement of proceedings, the defendant or the claimant may make a Part 36 offer (to settle) and payment. Procedure in Outline

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Allocation of Cases: 1.When a defence is filed at court, an allocation questionnaire is sent to all parties. This helps the judge decide which track the case should be allocated to. 2.An allocation fee has to be paid at this stage, but not for claims under £ If a party is dissatisfied with the allocation decision, an application can be made to the court for the claim to be re-allocated. Small Claim procedure: 1.Cases are heard by a District Judge who will normally use an interventionist approach. 2.Cases are dealt with in a relatively informal way, although they are now heard in open court. Prior to the 1999 reforms small claims cases were heard in private. 3.The use of lawyers is discouraged because the winning party cannot recover the cost of using a lawyer from the losing side. 4.There may be a paper adjudication if the judge thinks it is appropriate and the parties agree. Procedure in Outline

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Fast Track Cases 1.The concept of the fast track was described by Lord Woolf as ‘intended to provide improved access to justice… by providing a strictly limited procedure designed to take cases to trial in a short but reasonable time- scale at a fixed cost.’ 2.There are standard directions by the court for trial preparation. 3.There is a maximum delay of 30 weeks between directions and trial. 4.Normally only one expert witness is allowed and, if the parties cannot agree on an expert, the court has power to appoint one. The expert’s evidence will be given in writing. 5.There are fixed costs for the advocate at the trial. Procedure in Outline

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Multi-Track Cases 1.There is no standard procedure for pre-trial directions; the judge has flexibility to use a number of different approaches, including case management conferences and pre-trial reviews. 2.The aim is to identify the issues as early as possible and, where appropriate, try specific issues prior to the main trial. This is aimed at encouraging a settlement. 3.The number of expert witnesses is controlled by the court as the court’s permission is needed for any party to use an expert to give evidence (oral or written). 4.All time limits are strictly enforced. An approximate date for the trial (a ‘trial window’) is given to the parties and the court is very unlikely to agree to any adjournment. Procedure in Outline

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Lay down a code of conduct They aim to encourage: –More pre-action contact –Earlier & fuller exchange of information –Improved investigation –A settlement before proceedings Pre-Action Protocols

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Encourage use of ADR Court to facilitate the use of ADR Halsey v Milton Keynes General NHS Trust (2004) Court of Appeal said the courts cannot force parties to ADR as it might be against Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights – right to a fair trial ADR

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System V. significant reform Court active manager of the case – proactive role - r.1.4, judges given considerable discretion in management of the case Case Management

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Disclosure: Civil Procedure rules – require disclosure of documents on which a party is to rely or which adversely affect or support a party’s case. Sanctions: 1.Adverse award of costs 2.Order for a case to be struck out (in part or full) –Biguzzi v Rank Leisure plc(1999) –UCB Halifax (SW) Ltd (1999) Disclosure and Sanctions

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Established in 2002 A debt recovery service for sums up to £100,000 Claimants can issue claims via the internet Fees are electronically paid Defence can use the website to acknowledge service & file a defence Parties can use website to check the progress of their case Very popular with creditors Money Claim Online

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Lowering of standards Enforcement of judgments Out of Court settlements Concerns with the small claims procedure UK developing a compensation culture Costs of litigation Problems with case management Criticisms of the System

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System Family courts too secretive? Govt. paper ‘Confidence & Confidentiality: Improving Transparency and Privacy in Family Courts (2006) Simplify the system – integrate the county court & High Court More cases to be heard by the county court Move to an inquisitorial system Reform of compensation system for PI cases Reforms

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System 1.What is meant by an adversarial system? 2.What is the name of the judge who brought about the 1999 reforms to the civil system? 3.What are the names of the three tracks? 4.What are the names of the civil courts? 5.What is meant by case management? 6.What is meant by pre-action protocols? Test Yourself

Law LA1: The Civil Justice System – court service website Useful Websites