New rules: put your money where your mouth is
Lord Woolf's reforms to the Civil Justice system are the most radical changes in over a hundred years - and they come into force on 26 April. The new rules will have a marked impact on everyone who comes to the law to solve disputes and look for justice.
Woolf's changes are not just to the letter of the law, but to its spirit. He wants to see an end to confrontation, to cynical abuse of the rules, and to unnecessary cost and delay.
In practice the reforms will have less effect on big cases, but for claims below £15,000 the new rules will at the very least mean much faster resolution - trials must take place no later than 30 weeks after the parties have each stated their case (now even small cases can drag on for years).
At the root of Woolf's philosophy is the overriding objective to deal with each case justly. This means putting the parties on an equal footing, saving expense, dealing fairly and quickly, giving each case an appropriate share of court resources, and keeping costs in proportion to the case's importance, complexity, and the amount of money involved.
To do this, Woolf has come up with a new set of procedures and has given the court far more power over clients and lawyers' conduct of the case.
He has come up with the idea of the procedural judge (PJ), who will keep tabs on the case right up to the start of the trial, knock heads together, bounce things along and penalise bad behaviour by making costs awards or kicking cases out altogether.
The change that everyone is talking about, though, is the front-end loading of work on every dispute. No more bluff, no more empty threats, no more avoidance tactics - if you want to use the law against a commercial opponent, you will now have to put your money where your mouth is.
In practical terms, this means that before you can even send a lawyer's letter threatening court proceedings, you have to come up with evidence of a credible case - and swear to the truth of your claim.
If you receive a writ (now called a claim), you have to put up your best defence immediately - no more vague denials and months (or years) of delaying tactics.
That means lots of work and therefore higher costs right at the start of the case for both sides. This is a deliberate tactic to encourage the settlement of disputes.
For further information please contact Mike Henley, e-mail: Click Contact Link , Tel: + 44 113 284 7000
This article was first published in a special supplement to the March 1999 Hammond Suddards Commercial Dispute Resolution Newsletter
The information and opinions contained in this article are provided by Hammond Suddards. They should not be applied to any particular set of facts without appropriate legal or other professional advice.
Lord Woolf's reforms to the Civil Justice system are the most radical changes in over a hundred years - and they come into force on 26 April. The new rules will have a marked impact on everyone who comes to the law to solve disputes and look for justice.
Woolf's changes are not just to the letter of the law, but to its spirit. He wants to see an end to confrontation, to cynical abuse of the rules, and to unnecessary cost and delay.
In practice the reforms will have less effect on big cases, but for claims below £15,000 the new rules will at the very least mean much faster resolution - trials must take place no later than 30 weeks after the parties have each stated their case (now even small cases can drag on for years).
At the root of Woolf's philosophy is the overriding objective to deal with each case justly. This means putting the parties on an equal footing, saving expense, dealing fairly and quickly, giving each case an appropriate share of court resources, and keeping costs in proportion to the case's importance, complexity, and the amount of money involved.
To do this, Woolf has come up with a new set of procedures and has given the court far more power over clients and lawyers' conduct of the case.
He has come up with the idea of the procedural judge (PJ), who will keep tabs on the case right up to the start of the trial, knock heads together, bounce things along and penalise bad behaviour by making costs awards or kicking cases out altogether.
The change that everyone is talking about, though, is the front-end loading of work on every dispute. No more bluff, no more empty threats, no more avoidance tactics - if you want to use the law against a commercial opponent, you will now have to put your money where your mouth is.
In practical terms, this means that before you can even send a lawyer's letter threatening court proceedings, you have to come up with evidence of a credible case - and swear to the truth of your claim.
If you receive a writ (now called a claim), you have to put up your best defence immediately - no more vague denials and months (or years) of delaying tactics.
That means lots of work and therefore higher costs right at the start of the case for both sides. This is a deliberate tactic to encourage the settlement of disputes.
For further information please contact Mike Henley, e-mail: Click Contact Link , Tel: + 44 113 284 7000
This article was first published in a special supplement to the March 1999 Hammond Suddards Commercial Dispute Resolution Newsletter
The information and opinions contained in this article are provided by Hammond Suddards. They should not be applied to any particular set of facts without appropriate legal or other professional advice.
