CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES IN THE UK

Civil procedure law, being part of procedural law in general, comprises the rules by which a court hears and determines what happens in civil proceedings. In other words, civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the process followed by courts when hearing cases of a civil nature (civil actions). These rules govern how a lawsuit may be commenced, what kind of service of process is required, the types of pleadings, applications and orders allowed in civil cases, the conduct of trials, various available remedies, and how the courts and clerks must function.

In the UK, in 1999 the Woolf reform radically overhauled procedure in the civil courts. The reforms were brought about to give effect to the Woolf report, which was produced by a committee chaired by Lord Woolf, the Master of the Rolls. This report found that the civil justice system was slow, expensive, bound by archaic procedures, excessively complicated and generally ill-suited to the needs of clients. The adversarial culture of litigation meant that unnecessary delays and the deliberate running up of expenses were often used as a tactic to defeat the other side. In many types of disputes expensive expert witnesses were routinely produced by each side. Rather than helping the court to resolve a technical problem, these experts were seen as on the side of one or other of the parties and were subjected to partisan pressure by the other party`s lawyers. Lord Woolf`s report concluded that civil justice was in a state of crisis and recommendations were made for sweeping changes. Therefore, the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) were enacted in 1998 to improve access to justice by making legal proceedings cheaper, quicker, and easier to understand for non-lawyers.

The Civil Procedure Rules apply to all cases commenced after April 26, 1999 and are used by several types of courts. The County Court (or the Small Claims Court) deals with all but the most complicated claims for debt repayment, personal injury, breach of contract, family issues, housing disputes, i.e. mostly cases between people or companies who believe that someone owes them money. The magistrate`s courts also deal with many civil cases, mostly family matters plus liquor licensing and betting and gaming work.

More complex civil cases are reserved for trial in the Divisional Courts of the High Court of Justice – the Family Division, the Chancery (property and money cases) and the Queen`s Bench Division (cases involving contracts and negligence). These also have the capacity to hear appeals from lower courts and tribunals (which decide the rights and obligations of private citizens towards each other and a public authority and are inferior to the courts) and bind the courts below them in the hierarchy.

The Civil Division of the Court of Appeal (presided over by the Master of the Rolls), as the second highest tier in the English legal system, can reverse or uphold a decision of the lower civil courts. Because the volume of cases coming to the Court of Appeal is higher than that to the Supreme Court, the Master of the Rolls has been said to be the most influential judge in England. Finally, the Supreme Court, as the court of last resort, hears appeals on points of law of general public importance from many areas – commercial disputes, family matters, judicial review claims against public authorities and issues under the Human Rights Act 1998. Civil cases may leapfrog from the High Court to the Supreme Court, bypassing the Court of Appeal. Appellants must, however, apply for leave to appeal.

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