Victoria's Civil Procedure Act is much more than "generalities and rhetoric"

Key Points:

Victoria's Civil Procedure Act must be taken seriously by litigants and their lawyers - and failure to do so may substantively affect the legal rights of a delinquent party.

Section 7 of the Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) (CPA) states that the Act's overarching purpose, and the rules of court, in relation to civil proceedings, is to facilitate the "just, efficient, timely and cost-effective resolution of the real issues in dispute". To this end, the CPA imposes a number of over-arching obligations on litigants to achieve this purpose.

Perhaps as a result of its idealistic and aspirational aims, reflected in general language of broad compass, some observers questioned what practical role the CPA would play in the conduct of litigation when it was introduced in 2010.