A Guide To The Litigation Process In England And Wales

Introduction

If you are involved in a dispute in England and Wales you need to know:

• what options there are for resolving the dispute;
• what litigation involves; the
• steps from the start of proceedings to trial;
• what parties to proceedings have to do;
• the fundamentals of court procedure;
• how to use legal advisers efficiently and cost effectively; and what happens
• after judgment.

The civil justice rules, which had been developed over centuries, were discarded in 1999 and replaced by new rules of court procedure. These rules are known as the Civil Procedure Rules ("CPR"). The aim of the CPR is to make civil justice more accessible, fair and efficient. The CPR are not just another set of rules tacked on to an existing way of doing things: since their inception they have demanded a completely new code of behaviour and attitude to dispute resolution. In particular there is an emphasis on the need to focus on investigating and preparing the case at