- (i) By which the County Court of High Court (which continue to be bound by assimilated case law) may refer points of law which arise from that case to a higher court, to decide whether to depart from it.
- (ii) For a Law Officer to refer to the Court of Appeal to consider departure from assimilated case law and
- (iii) To be followed in the Court of Appeal where it is considering arguments about whether it should depart from assimilated case law.
The 171 st Practice Direction (PD) Update comes into force on 1 st October 2024, save for the amendments to the Practice Direction – Application for a Warrant Under the Competition Act 1998, which come into force on the date when Parts 1 and 2 and Chapter 2 of Part 5 of the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 have all come into effect.
The Master of the Rolls and the Courts Minister have signed the Practice Direction Update, which contains a suite of amendments in support of the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2024 (above) as well as providing for the following:
- E-Working Pilot (PD51O) – Updating the PD in consequence of the changes regarding references to Judges (above) and extends the operation of the pilot e-working scheme by one year (to 1 November 2025).
- Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA) – The DMCCA makes three sets of changes to the PD on Applications for a Warrant under the Competitions Act 1988 .
- Tidying Up – various minor amendments in consequence of the above reforms and/or to correct inaccurate or out of date references.
The 170 th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 170 th Practice Direction Update, which comes into force at 11am on 18 th July 2024.
The 170 th PD Update amends both PD 51R (Online Civil Money Claims Pilot) and PD 51ZB (The Damages Claims Pilot) to:
- extend each pilot scheme by one year, to 1 st October 2025, to allow for further testing and development.
- allow for the national rollout of the “case progression” and “application” features to all related claims at the remaining county courts in England and Wales where both parties are legally represented (save for the County Court at Birmingham, where these features will be deployed at a later date); ;
- consequential amendments, two clarificatory amendments and other modest tidying up.
Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules No.2 of 2024 and 168th Practice Direction Update
The Statutory Instrument (SI) is published via the legislation website and the online rules will be updated in due course.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2024 will enter into force on the date on which the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (concluded on 2nd July 2019 at The Hague) enters into force in respect of the United Kingdom.
The SI contains Rule amendments in respect of:
Registration Model:sets out a registration requirement in the 1982 Act, under which parties seeking recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment in the UK under Hague 2019 will first need to apply to register their judgment in the relevant UK court.
Route of Challenge:as the route of challenge, it is provided for a right for either party to apply to set aside a registration decision made under Hague 2019, and for consistency, the route of challenge for Hague 2005 registration decisions has also been amended from an appeal route to a ‘set aside’ route. Technical amendments are also made to the Hague 2005 provisions in line with the registration provisions.
Intra-UK Recognition and Enforcement: excludes judgments registered under both Hague 2019 and Hague 2005 from the intra-UK recognition and enforcement provisions in the 1982 Act sections 18 and 19.
Other policy implications: maintains existing policy in respect of obligations under multilateral private law instruments.
The 168 th Practice Direction (PD) Update comes into force, variously on 31 st May and on the same date as the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2024.
This update provides for:
PD 51ZC – The Small Paper Determination Pilot: the pilot is extended to 1 st December 2024.
PD 74A – Enforcement of Judgements in Different Jurisdictions: Various amendments to make provision for the registration of foreign judgments for the purposes of recognition and enforcement under the Hague 2019 Convention.
169 th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 169 th Practice Direction Update. The 169 th Update contains amendments to Practice Direction 51R (Online Civil Money Claims) and comes into force on 18 May 2024.
This PD Update contains amendments in relation to Notices of Change.
Previously, the provisions in PD 51R limited the use of digital notices of change to cases where all parties are legally represented, which means that if a litigant in person decides to appoint a legal representative, the court cannot be notified digitally; the notice has to be filed on paper instead, and then the claim has to be transferred out of the pilot.
This update widens the provisions to allow cases that are initially legal representative versus litigant in person, to provide for a digital notice of change to be filed where the litigant in person appoints a legal representative.
167 th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 167 th Practice Direction Update. The 167 th Update introduces a Pilot Practice Direction 51ZF – Part 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021: Provision during piloted commencement. The PD provides for the civil court procedure to be used during the piloted commencement of the new Domestic Abuse Protection Order.
This practice direction adopts the same paragraph numbering as Practice Direction 36ZG of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (the Family Practice Direction) where possible and, where relevant, corresponds with the Family Practice Direction, because pilots will operate in both jurisdictions. If a paragraph of the Family Practice Direction is not applicable, the corresponding paragraph in this practice direction is blank.
PD51ZF is to be inserted after Practice Direction 51ZE, having come into force on 9 May 2024, in readiness of commencement. The PD will not be in active use until Part 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 has been commenced for piloting purposes. Courts in the piloting sites are aware of the preparations for the pilot launch. This information will be updated once a commencement date for piloting of Part 3 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021 has been confirmed.
166 th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 166 th Practice Direction Update. The 166 th Update contains a suite of amendments to introduce Automatic Referral to Mediation in civil cases, and comes into force on 22 May 2024.
The 166 th PD Update will introduce a new Pilot PD (PD 51ZE) that will automatically refer certain civil cases to a free, one-hour mediation session with the HMCTS Small Claims Mediation Service.
The pilot scheme will apply to claims for a specific amount of money under £10,000 made through MCOL, Secure Data Transfer or paper on or after 22nd May 2024.
Alternative Dispute Resolution consultation
Your views are being sought on the proposed draft amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) regarding Alternative Dispute Resolution. The proposed reforms flow from the Court of Appeal judgment in James Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council.
165 th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 165 th Practice Direction Update. The 165 th Update contains a suite of amendments to Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC) in civil cases, and comes into force on 6 th April 2024.
The 165 th PD Update contains three amendments relating to: (i) VAT, (ii) the definition of ‘day’ in connection with the number of days before trial during which a matter is settled or vacated and the advocate is entitled to FRC, and (iii) cross referencing in PD 28:-
- VAT: In PD 45, Tables 1 and 15A have been amended to provide, where appropriate, for the recovery of VAT.
- The definition of ‘day’ in connection with the number of days before trial during which a matter is settled or vacated and the advocate is entitled to FRC: In the 163 rd PD Update , reference is made in PD 45 to to rule 2.8 in respect of the trial advocacy fees (‘A “day” means a clear day (see rule 2.8(3) and (4)’). This reference has been amended in the 165 th PD Update to disapply rule 2.8(2) and further examples have been included by which trial advocacy fees are to be calculated where a claim is vacated or settled before the date listed for trial.
- Cross-referencing in PD 28: As a consequence of amendments to rule 28.2 and rule 31.5 which are coming into force on 6 th April 2024 in the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2024 , a minor change is required to PD 28 at paragraph 3.9.
Annual Open Meeting of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee
Are you interested in observing the rule making process?
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee is hosting the annual Open Meeting of the Committee on 10 th May 2024. If you are interested in attending, read more details on GOV,UK, including how to apply.
164th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 164 th Practice Direction (PD) Update. The 164 th Update contains a suite of amendments to PD 51R, Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) and PD 51ZB, Damages Claims Portal (DCP), which came into force at 11am on 29 th February 2024.
The 164 th PD Update contains three main categories of amendment: Mediation, which only applies to PD 51R (OCMC), trial readiness certificates and trial bundles, which applies to both PD 51R (OCMC) and PD 51ZB (DCP), and applications, which also applies to both OCMC and the DCP.
- Mediation: PD 51R is amended to reflect that the mediation opt out system, which is currently in operation for litigant in person (LiP) -v- LiP claims, is also extended to operate in claims regarding legal representative -v- LiP and in legal representative -v- legal representative claims.
- Trial Readiness Certificates and Trial Bundles: PD 51R is amended to allow for trial readiness certificates and trial bundles to be submitted online, in claims where all parties are legally represented. This will only apply to the “early adopter” courts, which are in the Midlands, Manchester, and Northumberland clusters. A full list of these courts can be seen here. These functions are already in operation in relation to PD 51ZB, and this update clarifies that.
- Applications: PD 51R and PD 51ZB are amended to allow certain applications to be made online in each Pilot (“general applications”). The applications that will be capable of being made online will be, with limited exceptions, applications made after the standard directions order stage in relation to claims proceeding in early adopter courts, where both (or in multi-party claims, all) parties are represented.
A suite of other minor amendments are also being made to PD 51R (OCMC) for the purposes of clarity.
Access to Court Documents by Non-Parties: proposed new CPR 5.4C
Your views are being sought on the proposed draft amendments to Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) rule 5.4C (supply of documents to a non-party from court records). The proposed reforms flow from the UK Supreme Court judgment in Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd -v- Dring [2019] UKSC 38
Enforcement of Judgments in Different Jurisdictions (Hague 19 and Hague 05) Consultation: proposed amendments to CPR Part 74 and PD 74A
Your views are being sought on the proposed draft amendments to Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) Part 74 and PD 74A, arising from the CPR Committee’s consideration of the implementing framework to facilitate the operation of the Hague Convention 2019 (on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters) and Hague Convention 2005 (on Choice of Court Agreements).
Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2024 and 163rd Practice Direction Update
The Statutory Instrument (SI) is published via the legislation website and the online rules will be updated in due course.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2024 will enter into force, on 6 th April 2024.
The SI contains Rule amendments in respect of:
- Extending Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC) – various amendments are made following the Ministry of Justice’s (MoJ) consultation on FRC issues in July 2023, and in response to issues that have been raised outside of the consultation process following the implementation of the extended FRC regime on 1 st October 2023. The MoJ’s official consultation response can be read on GOV.UK.
- Acknowledgements of Service (AOS) in Judicial Review proceedings – amendments are made to CPR 54.8A which provide certainty and limit delay, by providing in the rules, an express right for claimants to file a Reply to the AOS in judicial review proceedings and to do so within seven days of receipt of the AOS.
- Limitation Period for Judicial Review (JR) Claims – Rail Passenger Services Public Service Obligation Contracts – this amendment is made in consequence of the Public Service Obligations in Transport Regulations 2023 In particular, a one-month limitation period for challenging a decision or award made under the Regulations is introduced. This includes JR challenges, as well as any private law claims for breach. The amendment to CPR 54.5 (time limit for filing claim form) aligns with the time limits in the mainstream subsidy and procurement regimes and provides clarity in the rules, given that the timeframe for general JR claims is three months.
- Penal Notices– amendments are made to CPR 81 (Contempt of Court) and specifically CPR 81.4(e) in response to caselaw to reverse the decision in Taray Brokering [2022]EWHC 2968 (Ch) to make clear that the Penal Notice in contempt of court proceedings is not part of the order – it is a warning notice added to the order as necessary.
- Tidying Up: Various minor correcting amendments, such as renumbering and previously missed cross references.
The 163 rd Practice Direction (PD) Update comes into force, variously on 1 st February 2024 and 6 th April 2024.
This Update provides for:
- Civil Restraint Orders (CRO) PD3C – this updates three prescribed forms (N19 (limited CRO), N19A (extended CRO) and N19B (general CRO) which are annexed to the PD (and will be available online in the usual way). The amendments enable, the details of any previous orders recording that claims and/or applications were totally without merit, to be set out in the body of the forms.
- Extending FRC – various amendments to PD45 are made following MoJ’s consultation and post implementation points on procedure (see also rule amendments in the SI above) as well as some minor consequential amendments to PDs 28 and 46.
- E-Working Pilot Scheme PD51O – amendments to bring the Administrative Court within the scope of the pilot and to extend the pilot as a whole until 1 st November 2024.
- Appeals to the Court of Appeal PD52C – a suite of housekeeping amendments.
- Statutory Appeals and Appeals subject to special provisionPD52D – this addresses a gap in the CPR regarding the time limit for appealing to the Court of Appeal from the Investigatory Powers Tribunal, by expressly providing that the appeal must be filed within 21 days of the date on which the Investigatory Powers Tribunal’s decision granting or refusing leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal, is given.
- Acknowledgement of Service (AOS) in Judicial Review proceedings – PD54A and PD54D are update din consequence of the above SI (provision for the claimant in JR proceedings to file a reply to the defendant’s AOS); as well as renumbering of PD paragraphs.
- Trial Witness Statements in the Business and Property CourtsPD57AC – this amendment adds pension rectification claims to the list of exemptions from the requirements of PD57AC.
Fixed Recoverable Costs Consultation (Summer 2023) Response
The official response to the Summer 2023 consultation on Fixed Recoverable Costs has now been published.
CPR Part 25 (Interim Remedies and Security for Costs) including a proposed amendment to CPR Part 4 (Forms) consultation
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views on proposed amendments to Part 25 of the CPR.
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by 9 February 2024 to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk.
Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses and please state “Part 25” within the subject
heading of your email.
162nd PRACTICE DIRECTION UPDATE
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 162 nd Practice Direction Update. The 162 nd PD Update introduces a new Practice Direction, PD 51ZD, a new pilot scheme which is intended to cap costs for “mid-tier” patent disputes, and comes into force on 1 st January 2024.
- The pilot will introduce a cap of £500,000 on the final determination of a claim and £250,000 on an inquiry as to damages or account of profits.
- The pilot will operate within the Shorter Trials Scheme (Practice Direction 57AB) that is currently operating within the Business and Property Courts.
The pilot will run from 1 st January 2024 until 31 st December 2026, unless extended or modified.
161th PRACTICE DIRECTION UPDATE
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 161 st Practice Direction Update. The 161 st Update contains a suite of amendments to Practice Direction 51R, Online Civil Money Claims, which came into force at 11am on 29 th November 2023.
The following amendments are made to PD 51R for the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) pilot which provide:
- Amendments to enable a claim up to £25,000 in value brought by a claimant who is legally represented against a litigant in person to be brought, and then continue, under the pilot.
- The ability for a defendant to respond to such a claim in the Welsh language.
- Amendments in relation to when and how claims are sent out of the pilot.
There are also amendments clarifying that information provided by the parties while in the pilot is to be treated as provided under the mainstream Civil Procedure Rules if the claim is sent out of the pilot.
160th PRACTICE DIRECTION UPDATE
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 160 th Practice Direction Update. This contains a suite of amendments to Practice Direction 51ZB, the Damages Claims Pilot which came into force at 11am on 16 th November 2023.
The following amendments are made to PD 51ZB for the Damages Claims Portal (DCP) which enable:
- the timely auto-generation of a ‘trial bundle’ to be used by the judge and legally represented parties at the trial.
The PD Update also contains a series of clarificatory and tidying up amendments to the following paragraphs of PD 51ZB: 8.1, 8.3A, 8.4 and 8.7 (the last being renumbered as Section 8A).
Alongside the PD Update and the IT features it enables, the following IT features will be introduced into both Online Civil Money Claims and the Damages Claims Portal (without the need for amendment to either PD 51R – Online Civil Money Claims or PD 51ZB – Damages Claims Portal):
- Expansion of the legal representatives’ ‘self-service’, enabling them to (i) directly upload evidence/documents, in compliance with judicial orders, to the digital case file and (ii) review evidence/documents as soon as they are uploaded by the other party.
- Ability to pay hearing fees online.
- Supports the functionality to immediately dismiss cases where the hearing fee payment has not been made within the prescribed timescales. This saves judicial time by this action being taken at the earliest opportunity.
- Ability for legal representatives to confirm if the case is ready for trial and to update the court of any changes or additional support required by their clients (or legal rep) e.g., where a client needs translator or special measures to ensure a successful hearing and use of judicial time.
- Supports the judiciary and legal representatives’ navigation of the digital file by creating a categorised chronological view and audit history of all documents filed or generated by the court.
159th PRACTICE DIRECTION UPDATE
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 159 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules, which came into force at 11am on19 th September 2023. It provides a suite of amendments to two pilot Practice Directions (PD), namely PD 51R the Online Civil Money Claims Pilot and PD 51ZB the Damages Claims Pilot.
The following amendment is made to PD 51R for Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) which enables:
- an online ‘Notice of Change of legal representative’ to be introduced into OCMC. This allows a newly appointed legal representative to assign themselves to a claim to replace the former legal representative of a party in a case.
The following amendments are made to PD 51ZB for the Damages Claims Portal (DCP) which enable:
- Certificate of Service functionality to be introduced in to the DCP, along with related amendments in relation to digital notices of change of legal representative.
- In addition, an update amendment is made to replace a reference to the CCMCC (County Court Money Claims Centre) with a reference to the CNBC (Civil National Business Centre). This amendment is consequential on the establishment of the CNBC, which will handle the business previously allocated to the CCMCC and the County Court Business Centre. The main suite of amendments for this were included in The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2023 and associated 158 th PD Update.
Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC): a further consultation
Your views are being sought on issues relating to the new FRC regime in civil cases.
CIVIL PROCEDURE (AMENDMENT No.3) RULES 2023 AND THE 157th & 158th PRACTICE DIRECTION UPDATES AND THE PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL UPDATE
The Statutory Instrument (SI) is published via the legislation website and the online rules will be updated in due course.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2023 enter into force variously, on 14 th August and 1 st October 2023.
The SI contains Rule amendments in respect of:
- Foreign Evidence Requests (Part 34) – two amendments are made. The first is to provide a power to the High Court to make an order for the issue of, “letters of request” in Tribunal proceedings. The second amendment is to ensure that all letters of request for England & Wales sent under the Evidence Convention or otherwise, are sent to the Foreign Process Section at the Royal Courts of Justice (RCJ).
Appeals (Contempt of Court) (Part 52) l. this addresses three issues: (i) applying for permission to appeal from the county court in contempt proceedings; (ii) applying for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court, both in contempt proceedings from a decision of a single High Court Judge on appeal, the Divisional Court or the Court of Appeal and from a decision of the Court of Appeal in non-contempt proceedings (the CPR may not provide for practice and procedure in the Supreme Court itself, but may make provision regarding applications for permission to appeal to the Supreme Court when made to the court in which the decision subject to appeal was made); and (iii) responding to caselaw – changes to rule 52.8 to reflect the Court of Appeal decision in R (Kearney) v Chief Constable of Hampshire Police [2019] EWCA Civ 1841 (the effect of the decision (and of s.18(1)(a) Senior Courts Act 1981) is that no route of appeal lies to the Court of Appeal against refusal of permission on a Judicial Review in a criminal cause or matter).
- HM Courts and Tribunal Service back-office (Parts 3, 7, 13, 14, 26, 71, 72, 73, 83, 84, 89) – technical amendments are made following organisational changes in the back-office units at the County Court Business Centre (at Northampton) and County Court Money Claim Centre (at Salford) which are being replaced by the creation of the Civil National Business Centre (CNBC) at Northampton.
- Simplification Work (Parts 3, 12, 14, 18, 19, 20, 22, 23, 24, 26, 39, 40, 45, 55, 56, 58, 59) – a suite of amendments arising from the ongoing work by the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, in accordance with its statutory duty to “… try to make rules which are both simple and simply expressed.”. the reforms and consequential amendments provide for a reduction in overall length, simplify the language, improve clarity and provide gender neutrality. Some provisions are also relocated to be more logically and appropriately placed. Rule 22.1 (documents to be verified by a statement of truth) has been reconstructed, for example, rule 22.1(b) is deleted as being superfluous, and the provisions on who may sign a statement of truth and what that statement of truth should contain, are more clearly separated. Two clarificatory amendments are also made to the following: Rule 3.3 (Court’s power to make an order of its own initiative) and Rule 39.1 (definition of a hearing) and to bring it in line with the like amendment in Rule 23.1. It does not change the law or practice, but is purely a technical amendment.
- Tidying Up – various minor corrections arising (i) from the last mainstream Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023; (ii) following the Joint Committee of Statutory Instruments’ twenty-ninth report of the 2022-2023 session; (iii) anonymity of other persons in Part 29; (iv) some minor corrections to cross-references etc in the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2023; (v) following the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments forty-second report of the 2022-2023 session.
The 157 th Practice Direction Update – (coming into force, variously, on 17 th July 2023 and 27 th July 2023). This PD Update supports HMCTS digital reform. It provides for:
- Pilot Extensions – the current pilot PDs for Online Civil Money Claims (PD 51R) and the Damages Claims Portal (PD 51ZB) are extended until October 2024.
- Additional Functionalities – a further tranche of enhancements to the functionality of the PD 51ZB pilot scheme to increase the permitted payment methods available to users to make payments to HMCTS.
- Housekeeping Amendments – other modest amendments to correct typographical errors, operational sequencing and a simplification amendment.
The 158 th Practice Direction Update – (coming into force, variously, on 14 th August 2023 and 1 st October 2023). In addition to a suite of amendments in consequence of the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2023 (above), this PD Update also provides for:
- Independent Monitoring Authority (IMA) –a new (un-numbered) PD is introduced to support the IMA in fulfilling its statutory duty in relation to claims relating to EU and EEA ETFA citizens’ rights.
- Flagging Provision in PD 5B – email addresses are contained within various parts of the rules. These email addresses are now placed in a central list, with an associated “flagging” provision (to be a new para 6) in the PD. The list will be available on the rules webpage in advance of the PD amendment coming into effect on 1 st October 2023.
- Enforcement by Taking Control of Goods – PD 84 is amended to reflect operational changes: the designated centre in the North West region, at which applications for Certified Enforcement Agents can be considered, is now Liverpool .Form EAC1 has been updated in consequence. It is also being revised further to reflect the establishment of the Civil National Business Centre (referred to above). The updated form will be available on Gov.uk in the normal way.
- Companies Act Proceedings – PD 49A is amended to allow for proceedings to be issued via a Part 7 or Part 8 claim form.
- Other Technical Changes and Tidying Up – (i) Evidence (PD 32) – some housekeeping amendments are made to reflect a new unit created by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office; (ii) Electronic Working Pilot Scheme (PD 51O) – a minor typographical amendment error is corrected; (iii) Change of Solicitor (PD 42) – technical amendments regarding how solicitors file notices of change.
Pre-Action Protocol Update – (coming into force on 1 st October 2023.)
The Master of the Rolls, as Head of Civil Justice, has approved the amendments within this PAP update.
The PAP update amends the PAP for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents, and The Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims.
The amendments are part of a package of amendments correcting minor errors such as incorrect cross-references arising out of the fixed recoverable costs amendments (see earlier bulletin regarding the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2023, 156th Practice Direction Update and associated Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) Update).
Standard Disclosure in Workplace Claims consultation
Your views are being sought on issues arising from the Civil Procedure Rule Committee’s consideration of Annex C (Standard Disclosure in Workplace Claims) to the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims.
THE Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2023, 156 th Practice Direction Update and associated Pre-Action Protocol (PAP) Update
Further to the bulletin of April 2023, the Statutory Instrument and accompanying Practice Direction Update extending Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC) have now been signed by the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice.
The Statutory Instrument (SI) (The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2023 (legislation.gov.uk)) is published via the legislation website and the online rules will be updated in due course.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2023 enter into force on 1 st October 2023.
The SI contains Rule amendments in respect of:
- The extension of FRC to all civil claims across the fast track, including a new process and separate table of costs for Noise Induced Hearing Loss (NIHL) claims valued up to £25,000.
- A new intermediate track and corresponding FRC for less complex claims valued at more than £25,000, but not more than £100,000.
- FRC will apply to all cases in the fast track and the new intermediate track, with limited exceptions.
- Specific provisions for vulnerable parties and witnesses under the extended FRC regime.
- The arrangements for Part 36 offers to settle in low value personal injury cases already subject to FRC have been updated to cover all FRC claims.
The 156 th Practice Direction Update – Coming into force on 1 st October 2023
- Substitutes, with a new practice direction, Practice Direction 45, which sets out both the current tables of fixed costs in what is currently Part 45 and revised and new tables of fixed costs to which a newly substituted Part 45 will also refer.
- Substitutes, with a revised and renumbered practice direction, Practice Direction 26, to address—
(i) allocation to the intermediate track, as provided by Part 26; and
(ii) for claims allocated to either the fast track or the intermediate track, assignment to one of four complexity bands, as also provided by Part 26, which will determine the amount of fixed costs allowable in respect of a claim under Part 45.
- Substitutes, with a substantially revised practice direction, Practice Direction 28; which makes provision not only regarding the case management of claims allocated to the fast track and intermediate track, but also those claims for noise induced hearing loss allocated to the fast track (in respect of which Part 45 for fixes the costs, which may be recovered).
- An accompanying note (updated since the draft rules were published in April 2023) can be seen below:
Pre-Action Protocol Update – Coming into force on 1 st October 2023
The Master of the Rolls, as Head of Civil Justice, has approved the amendments within this PAP Update.
The majority of amendments in this Update are minor consequential amendments, which take account of amendments to Part 36 and amendments to Parts 26 and 45 by way of substitution of those Parts and their respective practice directions.
More substantial amendments are made to the Pre-Action Protocol for Disease and Illness Claims, which make provision for noise induced hearing loss claims which would normally be allocated to the fast track, in respect of which costs are set by Section VIII of new Part 45 and Table 15 in PD 45. (Part 28 and PD 28, both amended by way of substitution, make further provision regarding the case management of such claims).
News: Implementation of the extended fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime: October 2023
This is further to the bulletin in 2022 (see further down this page). At the Civil Procedure Rule Committee’s (CPRC) meeting on 31 March 2023, the draft amendments required for the implementation of the extended FRC regime were approved in principle. The intended in-force date is 1 October 2023, subject to formal ratification by the CPRC and the Master of the Rolls, as Head of Civil Justice, as appropriate, to be followed by ministerial concurrence and approval by Parliament. Read more on this, including early publication of the draft amendments on GOV.UK.
CPR Part 24 (Summary Judgment)
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views on proposed amendments to Part 24 of the CPR
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by 28 April 2023 to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk.
Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses and please state “Part 24” within the subject heading of your email.
Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting (QOCS) Consultation Response
The official response to the May 2022 consultation on QOCS has now been published.
155 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules and Pre-Action Protocol Update – Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents
Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, have signed the 155 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules, which came into force, on 6 th March 2023. It provides amendments to Practice Direction 27B Claims Under the Pre-Action Protocol For Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents – Court Procedure. In addition, the Master of the Rolls, as Head of Civil Justice, approves a suite of amendments to:
(a) the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents (‘the RTA Protocol’);
(b) the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims (‘the EL/PL Protocol’); and
(c) the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents (‘the RTA Small Claims Protocol’).
The amendments made to the RTA Protocol and the EL/PL Protocol come into force 22 nd February 2023.
The amendments made to the RTA Small Claims Protocol came into force on 6 th March 2023.
154 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Online Civil Money Claims Pilot and the Damages Claims Pilot
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice, have signed the 154 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules, which came into force, variously, from 1 st March 2023. It provides a suite of amendments to two pilot Practice Directions (PD), namely PD 51R the Online Civil Money Claims Pilot and PD 51ZB the Damages Claims Pilot.
Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 & 153rd PD Update
The Statutory Instrument (SI) is published via the legislation website and the online rules will be updated in due course.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 enter into force variously from 6 th April 2023.
The SI contains Rule amendments in respect of:
- Simplification Work (Parts 17, 19, 20, 21 and 38) –arising from the on-going work by the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, in accordance with its statutory duty to, “… try to make rules which are both simple and simply expressed.”. The amendments to Part 17 (Amendments to Statements of Case) includes a revised rule 17.1(1) to align with the judgment in Rawet v Daimler AG et al [2022] EWHC 235 (QB) Consequential amendments, in particular to cross-references of numbers of rules, in, or practice directions under, those Parts are also made.
- Discontinuanceof claims, causes of action and proceedings(Part 38) – an amendment is made to the definition of “statement of case” to substitute “counter claim or other additional claim” for “Part 20 Claims”, because the latter term is no longer used. ,
- Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting (Part 44) – changes are made, following a public consultation, to the QOCS regime in personal injury cases in Part 44 of the CPR. This issue arises from the Supreme Court case of Ho v Adelekun in 2021 and involves the scope of set-off. A small rule drafting amendment was made in response to the consultation regarding ‘agreements to pay or settle a claim’ at r.44.14(1).
- Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) (Parts 52 and 54) – . the updates add the Chartered Institute’s new qualification of, “CILEX lawyer” to the list of qualifications for authorised court officers who may perform certain functions of the court.
- Judicial Review (Cart reviews)(Part 54) – substituting for rule 54.7A, a revised rule in consequence of the provisions of section 2 of the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022. The 2022 Act reverses the decision in R (Cart) v Upper Tribunal [2011] UKSC 28, [2012] AC 663 and substitutes an entirely new test for the very limited circumstances in which judicial review (JR) will now be permitted where the Upper Tribunal has refused permission to appeal.
- Admiralty Claims (Part 61) – a suite of amendments, to (i) provide that personal injury claims which do not require the expertise of the Admiralty Court may be issued in the County Court and (ii) to update the rules in line with modern practice and with the intention to ensure early disclosure, improved particularisation of statements of case and thus enhancing the ability of the court and the parties to identify the issues in a collision action at an early stage, and to manage the case appropriately. CPR Form ADM3 (Collision Statement of Case) has also been updated in consequence. The revised form will be published on GOV.UK in the usual way, in line with the April 2023 in-force date.
- Tidying Up – several amendments are made namely (i) in consequence of the change of Sovereign (ii) Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 to reflect changes in terminology; (iii) Amendments arising from the Joint Committee on Statutory Instruments – to correct errors identified by the JCSI in its Fourteenth Report of Session 2022-23; (vi) Apportionment in fatal accident claims – a correction of an accidental lacuna arising from a reordering provision in 2006/7. This is corrected by making CPR 41.3A its own “Section 1A” within Part 41, and giving it an appropriate title of, “Apportionment in Fatality Claims”; (v) Amendments in consequence of simplification reforms (to Part 16) made in the last SI (the Civil Procedure Amendment (No. 2) Rules 2022 (insert link); and (vi) Other minor amendments to address lacunae, including to rule 12.3(3) regarding the circumstances when a claimant cannot obtain a default judgment, to clarify the time at which any of the conditions are to be fulfilled.
The 153 rd Practice Direction Update – (coming into force, variously, on 31 st January 2023 and 6 th April 2023)
- Service by email – the amendments to PD6A are intended to address the effect of the decision in R (Tax Returned Ltd) v Commissioners for HMRC [2022] EWHC 2515 (Admin) – where it was held that a party who provides more than one email address for service, cannot be served electronically.
- Simplification Work – amendments made to the substantive rules mean certain PDs are dispensed with as being unnecessary in their current form, albeit that some provisions are retained in the mainstream rules. However, other PDs are retained in a revised format, thus: PD17 is retained, but with substituted para 1.4; PD19A is revoked (with preserved provisions moved into Part 19) and PD19C moved to become PD19A. PD19B is retained in a reformed state. PD21 is revoked with preserved provisions moved into the substantive rules, though more succinctly expressed.
- Appeals process in consequence of the Voter Identification Regulations 2022 – amendments to PD52D to facilitate an appeals process in consequence of the Elections Act 2022.
- Extend Pilot – PD51O, the current pilot for e-working, is extended for a further year (to April 2024).
- Revocation – the following PDs are revoked (i) PD55C (in relation to Covid 19 arrangements for possession hearings) which is no longer required because its provisions have already ceased to have effect; and (ii) PD51Y (in relation to Covid 19 video/remote hearings) which had expired except for the first sentence of paragraph 3, but is now revoked in its entirety on the basis that the remaining sentence no longer performs a useful function.
- Other Technical Changes and Tidying Up: (i) PD3A to make the provisions at paragraphs 2.1 and 3.4 of PD3A gender neutral; (ii) PD3F to update the address for the Attorney General’s Office, following relocation; and (iii) PD57 to amend a signpost to reflect up to date legislative references.
- New CPR Forms: Derivative Claims: in consequence of the amendments to Part 19, two new CPR prescribed forms have been created which replicate the forms of notice annexed to the legacy PD19C. The new forms will be published on Gov.uk, in the usual way, in line with the April 2023 in-force date. It is anticipated that the new forms will be N535 “Notice in relation to derivative claim – for claims involving a company” and N536 “Notice in relation to derivative claim – for claims involving a body corporate that is not a company or trade union”.
CPR Part 22 and PD 22 (Statements of Truth) and Part 23, PD 23A and PD 23B (general rules about applications for court orders) consultation
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views on proposed amendments to Part 22 and Part 23 of the CPR
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by 24 February 2023 to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk.
Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses and please state “Part 22 and Part 23” within the subject heading of your email.
News: Implementation of the extended fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime
On 18 November 2022 Lord Bellamy KC, civil justice minister, announced at the Civil Justice Council National Forum that implementation of the extended fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime would take place in October 2023. Meanwhile, work on finalising the new rules which will implement the FRC extension continues, including at the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) meeting on 2 nd December 2022. The drafting work is not complete and will be subject to ministerial approval in the new year. The proposals follow the recommendations of Sir Rupert Jackson in his 2017 report, and the subsequent Ministry of Justice consultation, on which the way forward was set out in September 2021. FRC will be introduced for most civil cases up to £100,000 in value, with some exceptions as previously set out. Rather than expanding the value covered by the existing Fast Track to cover “intermediate cases”, the plan is to introduce a new Intermediate Track, as recommended in the Jackson report, along with provisions for four complexity bands in each of the Fast Track and the Intermediate Track, again as recommended in the Jackson report. Full details of the proposed rules will be made available when they are ready, in good time for implementation in October 2023. This will include the detail of the FRC figures, as uprated for inflation since the Jackson report. Minutes of the CPRC meetings can be seen on GOV.UK.
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 151 st and the 152 nd Practice Direction Updates to the Civil Procedure Rules, which come into force variously on the 16November 2022 and 1 st December 2022. The online rules will be updated accordingly.
151st and 152nd PD update
The 151 st PD Update provides for:
Clarifying amendments to Practice Direction 51R, the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot Scheme, to make it clear that prospective Help with Fees is not available to legally represented parties using OCMC. There are also three further minor amendments for tidying up purposes and to simplify language.
The 152 nd PD Update provides for:
The introduction of PD 51Z, the County Court Officers Pilot Scheme. This scheme provides for Court Officers to be authorised to make certain paper case management directions by completing standard order templates. The work will be overseen by Designated Civil Judges. The pilot will apply nationally to all suitable county court claims (except for certain cases which are considered to be too factually complex). The Pilot does not include digital work, namely, cases issued through either the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) pilot or the online Damages Claims Pilot (DCP).The Pilot (PD 51Z) will run from 1 st December 2022, until 30 th November 2024 (unless extended).
In addition, the 152 nd PD Update formally renumbers PDs 3E, 3F and 3G as PDs 3D, 3E and 3F, arising from the moving, in the 149 th Update, of PD 3D to become a PD supporting Part 49 along with other modest tidying up.
CPR Part 21 (Children and Protected Parties) and Proposed Revocation of Practice Direction 21
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views on proposed amendments to Part 21 and the proposed revocation of PD21 of the CPR.
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by 24 th November 2022 to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk.
Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses and please state “Part 21” within the subject heading of your email.
News: CPR Form amendments following the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of HM King Charles III
The Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) Committee has approved changes to all approved forms requiring amendment following the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II.
- All references to “Elizabeth The Second” be replaced with “Charles The Third”
- All references to “Queen” be replaced with “King”
- All references to “Queen’s Bench Division” be replaced with “King’s Bench Division”
- All references to “QB” be replaced by “KB”
Any other necessary and consequential amendments to reflect the change of Monarch.
Amended forms will be published in the usual way, in due course.
It is also noted that the use of the existing court seal continues until such time as another seal is prepared and authorised by His Majesty the King. Copies of all the Accession Council Orders can be seen here: https://privycouncil.independent.gov.uk/orders-in-council/the-accession-council/”
150 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – amendments to PD 51ZB The Damages Claims Pilot
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 150 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules, which comes into force on 15 th September 2022. The online rules will be updated accordingly.
It requires defendants who are legally represented to use the Damages Claims Portal (DCP) for claims within its scope.
Information on how to register with MyHMCTS can be found via this link.
The 150 th PD Update follows the 142 nd and 144 th PD Updates, which made provision to require represented claimants to use the DCP.
Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2022 & 149th PD Update
The Statutory Instrument (SI) is published via the legislation website and the online rules will be updated in due course.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 (enter into force variously, on 1st December in respect of Welsh Housing and on 1 st October in respect of all other amendments)
The SI contains Rule amendments in respect of:
- Welsh Housing – the Renting Homes (Wales) Act 2016 provides a single legal framework which replaces current legislation in respect of tenancies and licences. The changes to the CPR insert new rules in Part 55 and 56 and amend existing rules in Part 65 to cater for procedure in proceedings under the 2016 Act.
- Vulnerable Parties – an amendment to CPR 6.23 (Service) will allow a vulnerable individual to withhold sharing their address from other parties (other than the court) in certain circumstances.
- Service out of the Jurisdiction – a suite of amendments under Part 6 (and other rules) to allow for the circumstances in which the court may give permission for a claim to be served out of England and Wales.
- Environmental Reviews – amendments to Part 46 (Costs), Part 54 (introduction of a new Section III) and a new PD (PD54E) in consequence of the Environment Act 2021. The CPR amendments establish a procedure for a new form of review under this Act.
- Simplification Work – a package of changes arising from the work by the Committee to make to Rules both simple and simply expressed.
- Tidying Up – amendments to Part 12 (Default Judgements) and non-urgent, clarificatory corrections, arising from the previous SI (Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2022) and also an amendment to CPR 38.3(5), to draw users’ attention that a Notice of Discontinuance must be in the prescribed form.
- Intellectual Property Enterprise Court (IPEC) Costs Caps – rules concerning IPEC costs are relocated from Part 45 (Fixed Costs) to Part 46 (Costs – Special Cases) and updated.
- Admiralty Claims (Part 61) – amendments to rule 61.4 to clarify the effect of that rule and amendments to rule 61.9 (judgement in default Admiralty collision claims) in response to the judgement in Tecoil Shipping Ltd v The Owners of the Ship “Poseidon” [2020] EWHC 393 (Admiralty) to address a lacuna.
149 th Practice Direction Update -(coming into force variously on 1 st October 2022 and 1 st December 2022)
- Welsh Housing – a new PD56A, providing guidance for proceedings in Wales, and amendments are also made to PDs 55A, 55B and 65.
- Service out of the Jurisdiction – amendments to PD6B and an additional method to improve the process for service out of the jurisdiction of England and Wales.
- Environment Reviews – introduction of PD54E, which includes guidance for procedures for claims in the Office of Environmental Protection.
- Simplification Work – Certain PDs are dispensed with as being unnecessary and others are retained in a revised format, following consultation:
- Deleted: PD2D (References in the Rules to action done by the court); PD4 (Forms); PD15 (Defence and Reply).
- PD3D (Mesothelioma Claims) has been relocated because it is a “case type specific” PD and better placed outside the generic Part 3 code for case management.
- PD8A (Alternative Procedure for Claims) is relocated and streamlined.
- PD16 (Statement of Case) has been revised to make the PD clearer and more concise, in particular to remove duplication of provisions that are already in Part 16.
- Transcripts at the Public Expense – consequential amendments to PD52B (County Court and High Court Appeals) and PD52C (Appeals to the Court of Appeal);revisions to form EX105 will be published (via Gov.uk) in the usual way.
CPR Part 20 (Counter Claims and Other Additional Claims) and PD 20
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views on proposed amendments to Part 20 and PD20 of the CPR.
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by 23 rd September 2022 to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk. Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses and please state “Part 20” within the subject heading of your email.
Civil Procedure Rules 148 th Practice Direction Update (Revoking the 145 th PD Update)
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 148 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules, which comes into force immediately, Wednesday, 1 st June 2022.
The 148 th Practice Direction Update revokes the 145 th Practice Direction Update, which amended PD 51ZB – The Damages Claims Pilot – to require legally represented defendants to use the Damages Claims Pilot for claims that fall within its scope.
CPR Part 17 (Amendments to Statement of Case) and 38 (Discontinuance) Consultation
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views on proposed amendments to Part 17 (Amendments to Statement of Case) and Part 38 (Discontinuance) of the CPR.
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by 21 June 2022 to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk. Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses and please state “Part 17 and 38” within the subject heading of your email.
CPR Part 19 (Parties and Group Litigation) and the supplementing Practice Directions (PD19A, PD19B, PD19C) Consultation
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views on proposed amendments to Part 19 and PD19 of the CPR.
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by 5 July 2022 to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk. Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses and please state “Part 19” within the subject heading of your email.
145 th , 146 th and 147 th Practice Direction Updates to the CPR
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 145 th , 146 th and 147 th Practice Direction Updates to the Civil Procedure Rules, which come into force variously, as set out below.
The 145 th PD Update provides for:
Mandating use of the Damages Claims Portal (PD51ZB) where the defendant is legally represented, so that use of the DCP is mandatory for claims that come within its scope, namely, damages claims where both parties are legally represented and there are no more than three parties to the claim. This amendment comes into force on 2 nd June.
The 146 th PD Update provides for:
Extending the Online Civil Money Claims service (PD51R) to include the option whereby claims up to the value of £25,000 can be brought by a legally represented litigant against a legally represented litigant, in multi-party claims, up to a maximum of three parties. This amendment comes into force on 25 th May.
The 147 th PD Update provides for:
- Amendments to PD75 (Traffic Enforcement) will amend certain legislative references in PD 75, and the shortened titles by which they are referred, in anticipation of the coming into force of the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Approved Devices, Charging Guidelines and General Provisions) (England) Regulations 2022 and the Civil Enforcement of Road Traffic Contraventions (Representations and Appeals) (England) Regulations 2022. These Regulations respectively replace the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) General Regulations 2007 and the Civil Enforcement of Parking Contraventions (England) Representations and Appeals Regulations 2007. These amendments will come into force on 31 st May.
- Amendments to PD1A (Vulnerable Witnesses and Parties) provide for instances where there may be legitimate reasons a vulnerable victim seeks to protect their address from the other party. The PD is amended to expressly include the option of the court ordering the address/contact details of a vulnerable party or witness be kept confidential from the other party. These amendments come into force on 7 th June.
News: Practice Direction 51ZB – The Damages Claims Pilot (DCP):The Civil Procedure Rule Committee has approved the (145 th ) PD Update to require defendants who are legally represented to use the Damages Claims Portal (DCP) for claims within its scope, pending approval by the Master of the Rolls and Ministerial concurrence. This is due to come into force on 2 June 2022.
It includes the requirement for the defendant’s legal representative to register with MyHMCTS in order to access the system and receive notifications of claims.
The full PD Update is expected to be published soon. The online rules will then be updated accordingly.
This follows the 142 nd and 144 th PD Updates, which made provision to require represented claimants to use the DCP.
Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC) Consultation
Your views are being sought on issues arising from the Civil Procedure Rule Committee’s consideration of the implementation of Fixed Recoverable Costs (FRC) in Civil Cases.
CPR Part 49 (Specialist Proceedings) consultation
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
The next set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concern CPR Part 49 (Specialist Proceedings). Some of the proposed changes have been mentioned in previous consultations (on Parts 3, 7 and 8).
Please submit any comments to CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk by 23 May 2022.
Civil Procedure Rules 144 th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 144 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules.
The amendments made by this Update came into force on Friday 1 st April and add further amendments to the suite of amendments made by the 142 nd Update to ensure that all of the intended amendments to PD 51ZB (The Damages Claims Pilot) made by that instrument come into force at the same time. In summary, the 144 th PD Update provides for the following:
- The first amendment clarifies that PD51ZB only applies to legally represented claimants, not litigants in person.
- The second amendment limits the scope of the Pilot, to ensure that it is not mandated for more complex multi-party cases which cannot otherwise be litigated through the system.
PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL FOR LOW VALUE PERSONAL INJURY (EMPLOYERS’ LIABILITY AND PUBLIC LIABILITY) CLAIMS AND PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL FOR RESOLUTION OF PACKAGE TRAVEL CLAIMS
The Master of the Rolls as Head of Civil Justice approves the amendments to—
(a) the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims; and
(b)the Pre-Action Protocol for Resolution of Package Travel Claims.
The amendments made by this instrument come into force on 6th April 2022 and are made in consequence of the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2022 and the 140th PD Update within which amendments were made to increase the small claims track limit in non-road traffic PI claims from £1,000 to £1,500 to reflect the Ministerial Written Statement on 26 April 2021.
The necessary revisions to forms EL1, EL2, ELD1, ELD2, EPL3, EPL4, EPL5, EPL6 and 7, PL1 and PL2 are also being updated, so that the references to the value of the claim are amended from £1,000 to £1,500 in readiness of the 1st April 2022 in-force.
CPR Part 14 (Admissions), Part 15 (Defence and Reply), and Part 16 (Statements of Case) consultation
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
The next set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concern CPR Part 14 (Admissions), Part 15 (Defence and Reply), and Part 16 (Statements of Case).
Please submit any comments to CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk by 2nd May 2022.
Civil Procedure Rules 142 nd and 143 rd Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 142 nd and 143 rd Practice Direction Updates, which come into effect variously on 4 th April for the 142 nd Update and 22 nd March and 1 st June for the 143 rd Update.
The 142 nd Practice Direction Update provides for:
Amendments to PD 51ZB – Damages Claims Pilot (DCP) which require legally represented claimants in the County Court to use DCP for claims which come within the scope of PD 51ZB. The amendments take effect on 4 th April 2022. PD 51ZB currently operates as a pilot until 30 th April 2024 (unless extended).
The 143 rd PD Update provides for:
- Amendments to Practice Direction 51Y – Video or Audio Hearings During the Coronavirus Pandemic. Currently PD 51Y ceases to have effect on the date on which the Coronavirus Act 2020 ceases i.e. 25 th March 2022. This PD has played an important role in providing for users to access remote hearings during the pandemic, which has improved access to justice for many and that provision is being extended for a further twelve months, until 25 th March 2023,to allow time for it to be put on a permanent footing in due course, in line with the common commencement dates.
- Introduce PD 51ZC – Small Claims Paper Determination Pilot. This pilot scheme operates from 1 st June 2022 for two years, until 1 st June 2024 (unless extended). The pilot scheme enables the court to direct that a small claim (with some exceptions as detailed in the PD, for example certain personal injury small claims and housing disrepair cases) be determined without a hearing and without requiring the agreement of all parties. The pilot PD will operate in six pilot courts: Bedford, Luton, Guildford, Manchester, Staines and Cardiff. An amended form N180 (Directions Questionnaire (Small Claims)) will be available online (via Gov.uk).
Civil Procedure Rules 141 st Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 141 st Practice Direction Update to revoke Practice Direction (PD) 51S – The County Court Online Pilot
This amendment came into force at 11:00 a.m, 1 March 2022 and provides for the following:
- To omit PD 51S – The County Court Online Pilot – from the CPR
- Any claims filed using County Court Online on or before 28 February 2022 will continue as if PD 51S remains in force.
- PD 51S was introduced on 12September 2017, as part of the early stages of the HMCTS Reform Programme to digitalise the County Court, and was intended to cease in 2022. PD 51S is limited in scope to claims that would otherwise be brought only at the County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC) for claims where the claimant is represented; it was run on an invitation only basis. The Pilot under PD 51S has now reached a natural conclusion because of the introduction (on 28 May 2021) of the Damages Claims Pilot (PD 51ZB), which has much greater capability than the County Court Online service.
News: Practice Direction 51S – The County Court Online Pilot
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee has approved the (141 st ) PD Update to repeal PD51S (The County Court Online Pilot), pending approval by the Master of the Rolls and Ministerial concurrence. The update is expected to come into force soon. The online rules will then be updated accordingly.
CPR Part 7 (How to Start Proceedings – The Claim Form) and CPR Part 8 (Alternative Procedure for Claims) Consultation
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
The next set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concern CPR Part 7 (How to start Proceedings – the Claim Form) and Part 8 (Alternative Proceedings for Claims).
Please submit any comments to CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk by 5PM, Thursday 24 th March.
Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2022 & 140th Practice Direction Update
The Statutory Instrument (SI) is published via the legislation website and the online rules will be updated in due course.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2022 (enter into force on 6 th April 202)
The SI contains Rule amendments in respect of:
Digital Notice of Change – CPR Part 2 and Part 42 is amended to reflect a new definition of ‘filing’ and introducing a new definition for ‘My HMCTS’ (an online system) to allow notices of change of solicitor to be filed online.
Acknowledgement of Service – a replacement to CPR Part 10, which reflects current work by the Committee to simplify and condense the Rules. These changes remove PD10 and remove other text, to consolidate in the substantive Rules. This follows a six-week public consultation which closed 12 November.
Default Judgment – Part 12, which also reflects work on brevity and simplification of the Rules, the changes remove the supplementing PD12 to incorporate procedure into the substantive Rules. This was subject to the same public consultation referred to above.
Small Claims Track limit – Part 26 is amended to increase the small claims track limit in non-road traffic PI claims from £1,000 to £1,500. This reflects the Ministerial Written Statement on 26 April 2021.
There are a suite of consequential amendments that flow from this in the SI (to Parts 16 (statements of case), Part 26 (case management), Part 27 (small claims) and Part 45 (fixed costs).
Anonymisation – Part 39 is amended to widen the application of granting anonymity (to a person) rather than the current “party or witness” in response to case law Brearley v Higgs & Sons (a Firm) [2021] EWHC 1342 (Ch).
Authorised Costs Officers – changes to Part 47 with regard to the powers of an authorised costs officer, for clarificatory purposes. The issues were highlighted by PME v Scouts [2019] EWHC 3421 QB and PME v Scouts [2019] EWHC B10 (Costs).
Anti-Social Behaviour (ASBI) – changes to CPR 65 in response to a Civil Justice Council report and their recommendation on legal advice.
Tidying up – a minor change to Part 1 on the Overriding Objective to remove the word “new”, since the CPR is no longer new. Changes to Planning Court (Part 54) proceedings, arise from the simplification work to consolidate the planning PD provisions; a new PD ‘lifts and shifts’ provisions previously provided for in various PDs, into one focused area. The Rule change reflects a new PD number.
140 th Practice Direction Update (coming into force variously from 1 st February 2022 in respect of PD51O Electronic Working Pilot Scheme; 14 th February 2022 in respect of PD75 Traffic Enforcement and 6 th April 2022 in respect of all other amendments)
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Justice have signed the PD Update. It provides for amendments in respect of:
Vulnerability – protections for vulnerable parties arising from the civil provisions in the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, are provided for in PD1A.
A suite of updated forms are expected to be launched on GOV.UK’s Form Finder in due course.
Civil Restraint Orders (PD3C) to increase the maximum term of the CRO from two to three years.
Digital Notice of Change (PD4 (forms), PD 42 (change of solicitor) and PD51ZB (damages claims pilot) to introduce a process for filing a digital Notice of Change of Solicitor.
Small Claims Track limit – in consequence of the above (SI) amendments, revisions are made to PD4 (on forms) and PD7A (how to start proceedings and the claim form).
Acknowledgement of Service (PD10) & Default Judgment (PD12) to delete the PDs in consequence of the amendments provided for above (in the SI).
Planning Provisions – a “lift and shift” exercise to consolidate all the PD rules on planning into one place.
Electronic Working – amendments to: PD51O to extend the pilot for a further 12 months to enable final roll out of the project for eFiling; to PD23A (applications), PD25A (interim injunctions), Competition Act – Warrants PD and the Civil Recovery PD to update the language regarding electronic communication and to reflect more accurately current and future practice.
Other Technical Changes and Tidying Up within 140 th PD Update:
Imaging Orders (PD25A) in response to the judgment in TBD v. Simons [2020] EWCA Civ 1182 to ensure consistency of practice and adherence of safeguards. A new example form of Order, which can be modified in individual cases is annexed to PD25A. It is a model form of Order and not a prescribed form under PD4. It is expected to be available on GOV.UK’s Form Finder in due course.
Authorised Costs Officers (PD47) to update and clarify the Rules in response to caselaw PME -v- Scouts [2019] EWHC 3421 QB);
Traffic Enforcement (PD75) technical changes in consequence of amendments to be made by the Littering From Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) (Amendment) Regulations 2021 (these amendments come into force on the 14th of February 2022, to coincide with the coming into force of new regulations.)
Forms (PD4) a suite of amendments in consequence of the changes made in this update cycle.
An updated suite of Commercial Court Forms (comprising some existing forms that have been revised, together with a collation of new forms) for use in the Commercial Court, the London Circuit Commercial Court and the Regional Circuit Commercial Court respectively are now available on GOV.UK Form Finder here: Commercial Court forms – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)and on judiciary.uk here: CPR, Guides and Forms | Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
Civil Procedure Rules 139th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 139 th Practice Direction Update to amend Practice Direction (PD) 51R – Online Civil Money Claims.
This amendment came into force at 11 a.m, 25 th January 2022 and provides for the following:
- Increases the work and powers of Legal Advisers: Currently, PD51R provides that an HMCTS Legal Adviser has delegated authority togive directions in defended cases (within the OCMC Pilot) up to and including a value of £300. This amendment increases that delegated authority to cases up to and including £1,000 in value.
CPR Part 2 (Application and Interpretation of the Rules), Part 3 (the Court’s Case Management Powers), and Part 4 (Forms) consultation
As part of its project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
The next set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concern CPR Part 2 (Application and Interpretation of the Rules), Part 3 (the Court’s Case Management Powers), and Part 4 (Forms).
Please submit any comments to CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk by 11 February 2022.
Read more on this, including how to submit your comments, via the below link:
Civil Procedure Rules 138th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 138 th Practice Direction Update to amend Practice Direction (PD) 51R – Online Civil Money Claims.
These amendments are effective immediately, having come into force at 11 a.m, 8 th December 2021 and provide the following:
PD 51R – Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot:
- to simplify the underlying legislative structure of OCMC so that, rather than being a subsidiary categoryof Money Claim Online (MCOL), the OCMC service will be a stand-alone online service. Previously, it was only a subset of MCOL for fee purposes, but earlier this year online and paper fees were aligned. The amendments include carrying forward into the OCMC PD, the effect of some provisions that previously applied from PD7E, MCOL.
- to allow claimants who have applied for Help with Fees (HwF) to start the process of bringing their claim using OCMC.
Civil Procedure Rules 137th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 137 th Practice Direction Update to amend Practice Direction (PD) 51O – Electronic Working Pilot Scheme, PD 51U – Disclosure Pilot for the Business and Property Courts and PD 55C – Coronavirus: Temporary Provisions in Relation to Possession Proceedings.
The amendments are effective immediately, having entered into force on the 12 th November 2021.
The amendments will provide for the following:
- PD 51O – Electronic Working Pilot Scheme: Changes the date for E-Filing in the Court of Appeal from 22 November 2021 to 10 January 2022 and the mandatory date for the use of E-Filing by a party who is legally represented from 17 January 2022 to 14 February 2022. The earlier dates were initially included in the 133 rd PD Update, but it has not proved possible for the project to deliver in the original timescale, so the revised dates have been established.
- PD 51U – Disclosure Pilot for the Business and Property Courts: This pilot was modified in response to user feedback and some amendments were introduced, pursuant to the previous Update (136 th PD Update). A further amendment is now required, to correct an oversight by amending wording which was intended to be omitted from the 136 th PD Update.
- PD 55C – Coronavirus: Temporary Provisions in Relation to Possession Proceedings: The current PD is due to expire on the 30 November 2021.These amendments provide for PD55C to continue in two respects. First, the entire practice direction will remain in force in relation to claims issued before 1 December 2021. Second, the requirements that claimants must provide notices about their knowledge of the effect of the pandemic on the defendant and (where relevant) as to their compliance with the Pre-Action Protocol continue until 30June 2022.
Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents (“The RTA Small Claims Protocol”)
The Master of the Rolls as Head of Civil Justice has approved amendments to the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents (“The RTA Small Claims Protocol”).
The PAP Update provides amendments to the procedure on the Official Injury Claim portal:
*A change to the definition of compensator to apply the definition to an organisation or business which is handling claims itself;
*Changes to the procedure for going to court in cases involving RTA Insurers or Article 75 Insurers where neither party provides an address for the defendant, so that such cases drop out of the portal; and
*Changes to the process for cases where the compensator accepts fault but initially disputes that the accident caused the claimant’s injury, then later accepts causation – in such circumstances the compensator will be treated as admitting liability.The Protocol was first published in the Schedule to the PAP Update, approved by the Master of the Rolls on 18th February 2021. The amendments come into force on 1 December 2021.
Civil Procedure Rules 136th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 136 th Practice Direction Update to amend the Disclosure Pilot for the Business and Property Courts, to be governed by PD 51U whichis currently in operation until 31 st December 2022.
The PD is effective from 1 November 2021.
The amendments will provide for the following changes:
- The creation of a separate regime within the pilot for ‘Less Complex Claims’ which is described in a new Appendix 5 to PD51U, together with a simplified version of the Disclosure Review Document (DRD) and guidance notes in two new Appendices 6 and 7.
- Multi-party cases will still operate within the spirit of the regime set out in the pilot, however, there is now an express recognition that disclosure in multi-party claims is likely to need a bespoke approach from the court, which is addressed in paragraphs 1.12 and 13.5 of the revised PD51U.
- Modifications to the provisions relating to lists of issues for disclosure, with a view to making the process of agreeing lists of issues simpler and less contentious and discouraging excess. The approach to the exclusion of narrative documents has been softened to prevent greater expense being incurred on the exclusion of documents than is incurred on leaving them in. These changes have resulted from a review of the way the pilot operates leading to amendments to paragraphs 7 to 10 of PD51U and the DRD and guidance notes.
- Disclosure Guidance – paragraph 11 of PD51U has been redrafted to remove the emphasis on the need for a hearing. Further, a new paragraph 6A explains that ‘court control’ over disclosure can be provided by guidance or by the court resolving differences in the traditional way by a party bringing forward an issue for determination by way of an application.
Civil Procedure Rules 135th Practice Direction Update
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 135 th Practice Direction Update to amend the Online Civil Money Claims Pilot, to be governed by PD 51R which is currently in operation until 30 th November 2023.
The PD is effective from 11am on 1 November 2021.
The amendments have 3 main purposes:
- Two relate to admissions, namely, to clarify the time for payment of a judgment on admission and to clarify the terms on which a judgment on admission is to be made.
- To introduce changes to enable a default judgment to be made in Online Civil Money Claims service (the pilot) in certain circumstances. At present, while a claimant may request default judgment using the OCMC system, if a request is received by the court, PD 51R requires the claim to be sent out of OCMC to the County Court Business Centre (CCBC) for the request to be processed.
CPR Part 10 (Acknowledgment of Service) and Part 12 (Default Judgment) consultation
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
The CPRC has commenced a new project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997. The work is being conducted by a sub-committee chaired by Mr Justice Kerr which is approaching its task in a phased way over the next 12-24 months. In doing so, the CPRC has resolved to commence a rolling programme of consultation whereby drafting proposals are published for comment before changes are introduced. It is important to note that proposed changes to the CPR will be focused on drafting amendments and not substantive changes. Some proposals may relocateor dispense with provisions altogether. Read more on this, including how to submit your comments, via the below link:
Civil Procedure Rules 134th Practice Direction Update – OCMC Pilot
The Master of the Rolls and the Courts Minister have signed the PD Update.
The 134th PD Update – Practice Direction 51R, Online Civil Money Claims Pilot (OCMC). Insert link (Due to commence 20th July 2021)
PD51R – OCMC Pilot – updates the PD to expressly provide for the following circumstances in relation to paper responses:
- where a defendant moves from being an online defendant to a paper defendant (or vice versa) the defendant should not be able to engineer a double time extension (one as an online defendant and one as a paper defendant) for submitting a response;
- to clarify that even partial completion of a paper response form is sufficient to stop a default judgment being entered against the defendant;
- where the defendant is capable of responding online, but the nature of their response is not catered for by the pilot, the defendant is required to use a mainstream CPR paper form, whereupon the matter is then sent out of OCMC to the County Court Business Centre.
Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) Rules 2021 & 133 rd Practice Direction Update
The statutory instrument is published via the Legislation website and the online rules will be updated in due course.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) Rules 2021 (enter into force on 7 th August 2021 in respect of CPR 83.8A(2) and from 1 st October 2021 in respect of all other amendments)
The SI contains Rule amendments in respect of:
- Recording in Court – amends CPR Part 2 and Part 27 concerning the meaning and application of “tape recording”, to address two items of lacunae and to bring the rules up to date so that any form of recording in court is covered, not just tape-recordings. Part 27 is amended to provide that rule 39.9 (which provides for recording and transcription of proceedings) applies in relation to proceedings on the small claims track (as well as the fast track and multi-track, where that provision has always applied).
- Payments – amends CPR Part 21 concerning Protected Parties and Detailed Assessments and Pre-Action Interim Payments to address a gap in the CPR to make it clear that applications for approval of voluntary and interim payments in cases involving children or protected parties should be made under CPR Part 8 and that the court is able to order payment of costs to the child’s litigation friend in a case where detailed assessment of costs has been dispensed with under rule 46.4(3).
- Admiralty Claims – amendments to CPR Part 24 and Part 61 to bring the rules in relation to Admiralty claims up to date and in line with practice, specifically in relation to summary judgment in Admiralty claims, the sale of arrested property before judgment and the determination of priorities and the directions to be given in orders for sale.
- Striking out of Counter Claims – amends CPR Part 25 regarding where counterclaims are struck out, to clarify the position where a defendant who has brought a counterclaim is granted an interim injunction in the counterclaim, but where the counterclaim is struck out for non-payment of fees.
- Appeals – amendments to CPR Part 40 and Part 52 to resolve doubts about the position regarding when permission to appeal applications and extension of time for permission applications should be made when the hearing at which judgment is given is adjourned – to the effect that the application can be made at the adjourned hearing.
- Possession: Further Notice of Eviction– amendment is made to CPR 83.8A(2) to provide to the occupiers a further minimum 7 days’ notice of eviction, if the first eviction does not take place as intended. This is effective from 07 August 2021.
- “Tender before Claim” definition– the CPR Glossary is amended to address a gap on the definition of “Tender before claim” and in response to caselaw (RSM Bentley Jennison (A Firm) & Ors v Ayton[2015] EWCA Civ 1120) to bring it up to date.
- Tidying up – CPR Part 70 is amended following the 127 th PD Update and the introduction of PD70B. This tidying up exercise (providing for the existing PD70 to be renumbered as PD70A on account of the addition of PD70B, and to amend cross-references in consequence) is in the interests of consistency with other CPR Parts which have more than one PD associated with them.
133 rd Practice Direction Update (coming into force variously from 18 th July 2021 and 1 st October 2021)
The Master of the Rolls and the Courts Minister have signed the PD Update. It provides for amendments in respect of:
- PD 4 – Forms-reinstates form N79A (Suspended Committal Order) under the Enforcements Section. This was previously removed in error as part of the contempt reforms.
- PD 5B – Communication and Filing of Documents by e-mail – removes the obligation for parties to include a debit/credit card number when filing an application by email where a fee is payable. Similar changes are also being made to the Family Procedure Rules.
- PD 25B – Interim Payments – corrects errors in references in the rules.
- PD 51O – Electronic Working Pilot Scheme – adds in additional jurisdictions to the e-working (CE-file) pilot scheme.
- PD 51U – Disclosure Pilot for the Business and Property Courts – provides for two updates: extends the pilot for a further 12 months to 31 st December 2022, andmodifies para 9.2 to clarify that in a case where no order for Extended Disclosure is made in respect of a party on any Issue for Disclosure, that party must still disclose all known adverse documents within 60 days of the first case management conference and provide a Disclosure Certificate certifying that this has been done.
- PD 52B – Appeals in the County Court and the High Court – makes consequential changes related to the above SI amendments under Part 52.
- PD 52D – Statutory Appeals and Appeals Subject to Special Provision – updates the references (at para 27A.1(2)(c)) to the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 for Welsh Language Statutory Appeals, which are currently incomplete.
- PD 56 – Landlord and Tenant Claims and Miscellaneous Provisions About Land – updates the PD to reflect the current state of the legislation because it contained repealed legislation and this was identified in GR Property v Safdar [2020] EWCA Civ 1441 (paragraphs 13 to 21).
- PD 61 – Admiralty Claims– deals with consequential changes related to the above SI amendments under Part 61 and will update the PD in relation to the application of PD 57AC (Witness Evidence at Trial), especially to cater for the particular circumstances of contemporaneous witness evidence within the Admiralty jurisdiction.
- PD 70 – Enforcement of Judgments and Orders – makes changes consequential to the Part 70 (“tidying up”) amendments referred to in the above SI.
- PD 74A –Merchant Shipping Liner Conferences (Admiralty)– removes an outdated provision.
- PD55C Coronavirus: Temporary Provision in relation to Possession Proceedings – extends the pilot for a further term (4 months) from end July 2021 to end November 2021.
PD51X Consultation
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee is seeking views on the operation of PD51X Statement of Costs for Summary Assessment Pilot and forms N260A and N260B. Please complete the online survey by 30July 2021.
132 nd Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules (PD 51ZB)
The Master of the Rolls and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the 132 nd Practice Direction Update to introduce a new pilot scheme for Damages Claims Online (DCO) to be governed by the PD 51ZB.
The PD is effective from 28 May 2021.
The main changes effected by this PD Update are to:
- Establish PD 51ZB, a new pilot scheme called “The Damages Claims Pilot” (DCP) to test a procedure that will allow legal professionals to digitally issue a claim, to respond to that claim and provide hearing information. At this stage, it may only be used by legal representatives, and then by invitation only.
- The pilot scheme will cover claims for damages brought by a single claimant against a single defendant, where the claimant is represented by a solicitor who is registered with the service. The pilot will enable users to issue proceedings, upload particulars of claim, acknowledge receipt of the claim and claim details, file a defence (and extension of time for defence), reply and provide initial case management and hearing information. Thereafter, the claim will be transferred out of the DCP and will be managed as if it has been issued under the existing provisions of CPR Part 7.
- The pilot will initially operate for three years, from 28 th May 2021 to 30 th April 2024.
- PD51ZB will be supported by published guidance, a technical specification for the DCP, and a set of “mock” screens which demonstrate how the system works. This allows for a slightly shorter and simpler PD than would otherwise have been necessary.
Civil Procedure Rules – PAP Update (coming in force on 12th May 2021)
PAP Update: PRE-ACTION PROTOCOL FOR PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS BELOW THE SMALL CLAIMS LIMIT IN ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS
The Master of the Rolls as Head of Civil Justice has approved amendments to the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents (“the Protocol”).
The Protocol was first published in the Schedule to the PAP Update, approved by the Master of the Rolls on 18th February 2021 (see below). The amendments come into force on 12th May 2021.
Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2021 & the 131 st Practice Direction Update
The Statutory Instrument is being published via the Legislation website. The on-line rules/web site will also be updated accordiingly.
Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2021 (enter into force no later than 31 May 2021). The SI contains rule amendments in respect of.
- Amendment to rule 6 of the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2021 which amends rule 27.2, to correct a drafting error and some further grammatical amendments. (Coming into force on the 21st day after the day on which the Rules are laid before Parliament.)
- Substitutes cross-references to “Practice Direction 27A” for cross-references to “Practice Direction 27” in CPR Part 27, in anticipation of the new PD27B ‘Claims Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents – Court Procedure’. (Coming into force on 31May 2021.)
The 131 st Practice Direction Update(coming into force variously from today, 05 May 2021 and 31May 2021)
The Master of the Rolls and the Courts Minister have signed the PD Update.
The 131 st PD Update providesamendments in two respects:
- Standard Directions to form an appendix to PD27B ‘Claims Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents – Court Procedure’ (in substitution of Appendix B to PD27B in the Schedule to the 129 th PD Update).
- A suite of Practice Directions supplementing CPR Part 54 (Judicial Review) which have been revised in consequence of developments in caselaw and practice. CPR Part 54 is supplemented by four PDs (54A, 54C, 54D and 54E (PD 54B having previously been revoked)). The amendments provide for the addition of a new Practice Direction 54B to make provision in relation to urgent cases, and the revocation of PD 54C (which is now obsolete), with consequential renumbering of Practice Directions 54D and 54E as 54C and 54D, together with some modernisation and “tidying up” of drafting in what become 54C and 54D. The main changes lie in a recasting of PD54A, prompted by concerns expressed by the Court of Appeal in a number of cases (most recently, R(Dolan and others) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2020] EWCA Civ 1605, in particular at §§116 – 121) that pleadings and Skeleton Arguments in public law cases have become too lengthy and too complex.
Forms – The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
A revised suite of Judicial Review forms in consequence of the reformed PDs supplementing CPR Part 54 will be published online (www.gov.uk) in due course.
A suite of Practice Directions supplementing CPR Part 54 (Judicial Review) which have been revised in consequence of developments in caselaw and practice. CPR Part 54 is supplemented by four PDs (54A, 54C, 54D and 54E (PD 54B having previously been revoked)). The amendments provide for the addition of a new Practice Direction 54B to make provision in relation to urgent cases, and the revocation of PD 54C (which is now obsolete), with consequential renumbering of Practice Directions 54D and 54E as 54C and 54D, together with some modernisation and “tidying up” of drafting in what become 54C and 54D. The main changes lie in a recasting of PD54A, prompted by concerns expressed by the Court of Appeal in a number of cases (most recently, R(Dolan and others) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2020] EWCA Civ 1605, in particular at §§116 – 121) that pleadings and Skeleton Arguments in public law cases have become too lengthy and too complex. A Welsh Language version of the reformed PDs is available below:
Cyfarwyddyd Ymarfer 54A – Adolygiad Barnwrol (PDF)
130 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules (PD 51R & PD 51S)
The Master of the Rolls and the Courts Minister have signed the 130 th Practice Direction Update to make technical changes to the operation of the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot, PD51R and the County Court Online Pilot Scheme, PD51S.
The PD is effective from 11am, 24 th May 2021.
The main changes effected by this PD Update are to:
PD51R – Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot Scheme:
- Extends the operation on the pilot for 2-years, until 30 November 2023.
- Amends Section 6 and paragraphs 10.1 and 10.3 to provide for the Mediation opt-out extension. At present, if a claim is for an amount exceeding £500, parties have to opt into mediation if they would like to take part. For claims of £500 or less, parties are required to opt out. The amendment extends it so that all claims have an opt out approach to mediation.
- Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 (Breathing Space Regulations) – amendments to paragraph 11.1 to accommodate the Breathing Space Regulations. Namely, if a claimant wishes to obtain default judgment in relation to a debt covered by a moratorium under the Breathing Space Regulations, the request must be made by application under the mainstream CPR Part 23, rather than by using the automatic request function in OCMC.
- Introduces a new paragraph 16A.1 to clarify that the court may refer a matter to a judge (or where appropriate a legal adviser) operating within the pilot for an order or directions about the management of the claim, and that the order or directions can be made without always having to send the claim out of the pilot first.
PD51S – The County Court Online Pilot Scheme:
- Extends the operation of the pilot for 12-months, until 30 November 2022.
Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2021 enters into force on 31 May 2021
The Statutory Instrument is published via the Legislation website at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/uksi/2021/196
The on-line rules/web site will also be updated accordingly.
This SI contains rule changes in respect of:
The small claims track limit– rule 26.6 is amended to increase the small claims track (SCT) limit for personal injury claims arising from a road traffic accident (RTA) to £5,000. The new limit will apply to claims where the accident occurs on or after 31 May 2021. This limit applies to the figure for pain, suffering and loss of amenity for the injury alone. The overall SCT limit for the value of all parts of the claim remains at £10,000. For RTAs before 31 May 2021 and for employer’s liability and public liability accidents and all other injury claims before and after that date, the SCT injury limit remains at £1,000.
There are other exceptions to the new £5,000 limit, these are all categories of cases excluded from the RTA Small Claims Protocol and new Official Injury Claims Service. These are:
- the exceptions specified in new rule 26.6A, in respect of which the old SCT injury limit of £1,000 will continue to apply to claims, namely:
- where, on the date that proceedings are started, the claimant is a child or protected party;
- where, when the accident occurred, the claimant was a “vulnerable road user”, which means, motor cyclists and pillion/sidecar passengers, cyclists, pedestrians, horse riders and those using mobility scooters;
- where, on the date that proceedings are started, the claimant is an undischarged bankrupt, or the claimant or defendant acts as a personal representative of a deceased person; and
- where, on the date that the accident occurred, the defendant’s vehicle was registered outside the United Kingdom; and
- children or protected parties – because these claimants are excluded from the new RTA SCT limit and the RTA Small Claims Protocol, they will not be able to source their own medical report, which under the Civil Liability Act 2018 is required to settle claims for whiplash injuries, via the online Service. New rule 26.6B provides that where the claim arises from an RTA which occurs on or after 31 May 2021, and the claim is for, or includes a claim for a whiplash injury, the normal track for that claim will be the fast track and the claim must not be allocated to the SCT.
Practice Direction 27B – rule 27.2 is amended to enable a rule or practice direction to require or permit a particular procedure to be used under Part 27 (the Small Claims Track) and to disapply or modify rules made under Part 27. New PD 27B is made under this rule. Where proceedings are started under this Practice Direction, new rule 26.5A provides that the claim shall be treated as if it has been allocated to the SCT
The RTA Small Claims Protocol – a claim for personal injuries arising from a road traffic accident on or after 31 May 2021 and which is subject to the increase in the small claims track limit, should be started under the RTA Small Claims Protocol. In certain circumstances, the Protocol may no longer apply to the claim, for example where the claim for damages for injuries is valued at more than £5,000. In those cases, new rule 45.29N provides that the fixed recoverable costs provisions in Section IIIA of Part 45 will apply to the claim as if it had been started under the RTA Protocol. However, where a successful claimant has not proceeded under, or has not complied with, the RTA Small Claims Protocol, new rule 45.29M enables the court to order a defendant to pay the claimant no more than the costs which they may recover under new Practice Direction 27B.
Medical reports in whiplash claims: rule 35.4 is amended to specify the medical evidence that may be obtained in respect of a claim for a road traffic accident related personal injury claim which consists of, or includes, a claim for a whiplash injury where the court gives its permission. In most cases that evidence must be a fixed cost medical report sourced via the MedCo Portal. This reflects requirements in respect of medical evidence to be obtained under the RTA Small Claims Protocol. Exceptions exist, however, where the claimant lives outside England and Wales, or where the claimant suffers a more serious injury as well as a whiplash injury, in which case permission may be given to use that report.
Consequential amendments: in light of the amendments to rule 26.6, rule 16.6 is amended to require a claimant to specify on their claim form whether they expect to recover, as general damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity, not more or more than £5,000, where the claim is for personal injuries arising from a road traffic accident which occurs on or after 31 May 2021. Rule 14.1B is amended to extend that rule to cover admissions made under the RTA Small Claims Protocol. Rule 46.14 is amended to ensure that the procedure specified in that rule, which concerns pre-issue entitlement to costs, is not used for disputes arising under the RTA Small Claims Protocol and that the procedure in Practice Direction 27B for dealing with costs disputes is used.
Forms – The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
Please note that various changes to prescribed court forms are being made in consequence of these reforms and are published on GOV.UK.
129th UPDATE – PRACTICE DIRECTION AMENDMENTS
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed the PD Update
The amendments made by the 129th PD Update concern:
Practice Direction 7A – How to Start Proceedings – the Claim Form: these amendments are consequential upon the increase in the small claims track limit to £5,000, subject to exceptions specified in Part 26 of the Rules, for road traffic accident (RTA) related personal injury claims where the RTA occurs on or after 31 May 2021
Practice Direction 16 – Statements of Case: the insertion of paragraph 4.3B, which specifies the medical evidence that must be included with the particulars of claim, is intended to address claims for whiplash injuries which are made outside the court procedures specified in Practice Direction 27B. The amendment to paragraph 4.3A(2), sets out the full title of the relevant Pre-Action Protocol, which currently appears in its abbreviated form only.
Practice Direction 27 – The Small Claims Track: this Practice Direction is renumbered in anticipation of new Practice Direction 27B coming into force
Practice Direction 27B – Claims Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents – Court Procedure: this Practice Direction sets out the procedure by which a dispute (or part of a dispute) not resolved through the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents is resolved by the court. It performs for the Small Claims Protocol, broadly the same function performed by Practice Direction 8B for the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents. Like that Practice Direction, it modifies provisions of the CPR.
Practice Direction 35 – Experts and Assessors: these amendments widen the scope of paragraph 2.6(being part of the general requirements regarding expert evidence), which currently applies to medical evidence in soft-tissue injury claims only, to include claims which consist of, or include, a claim for a whiplash injury.
Schedule: Practice Direction 27B – Claims Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents – Court Procedure: PD27B is set out as schedule to this update.
Pre-Action Protocols- The following PAPs have been either created or modified as part of this update:
The PAP Update covers:
The new Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents: the RTA Small Claims Protocol, supported by the online Service, provides the framework for claimants, whether represented or not, in making and settling low value road traffic accident related personal injury claims at the pre-action stage. It is anticipated that the user should not need to routinely refer to the Protocol in order to progress the claim. Instead, they will be guided by the online Service, which strives to improve accessibility and efficiency by simplifying the procedure while not going beyond what is permitted in the Protocol. There will also be separate guidance for the user to assist them where necessary and claimants who are unable to use the online Service may seek assistance from a dedicated support centre.
And amendments to –
The Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents From 31st July 2013: these amendments are consequential upon the coming into force of amendments to Part 26 of the CPR regarding changes to the small claims track limit for claims for personal injuries arising from road traffic accidents where the accident occurs on or after 31 May 2021, and the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, which sets a tariff of damages for RTA related whiplash injuries, as defined by the Civil Liability Act 2018, and for whiplash injuries and any minor psychological injuries suffered on the same occasion as a whiplash injury, and the ban on the settlement of claims for whiplash injuries without first seeing appropriate evidence of the whiplash injury.
The Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability Public Liability) Claims: this amendment is consequential upon the coming into force of amendments to Part 26 of the CPR regarding changes to the small claims track limit for claims for personal injuries arising from road traffic accidents where the accident occurs on or after 31 May 2021.
The Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims: these amendments are consequential upon the coming into force of amendments to Part 26 of the CPR regarding changes to the small claims track limit for claims for personal injuries arising from road traffic accidents where the accident occurs on or after 31 May 2021, and the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021, which sets a tariff of damages for RTA related whiplash injuries, as defined by the Civil Liability Act 2018 and for whiplash injuries and any minor psychological injuries suffered on the same occasion as a whiplash injury, and the ban on the settlement of claims for whiplash injuries without first seeing appropriate evidence of the whiplash injury.
128 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules (OCMC PD 51R)
The Master of the Rolls and the Courts Minister have signed the 128 th Practice Direction Update to provide for further functionalities within the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot, PD51R.
The PD is effective immediately i.e. from 11am, 25 th February 2021. The pilot PD 51R currently runs until 30 November 2021.
The PD Update provides for the following:
- Making changes to the claim or response: amendments have been made for consistency of language and to reflect that there is no facility for the claimant themselves to alter the actual claim form. (If the claimant notifies the court that their email address or telephone number has changed, the court’s administrative records are altered, but the actual claim form remains stable.) A claim or response can be amended but requires the claimant or defendant to make an application to the Court.
- Removal of ability to use the OCMC website to request redeterminations of repayment plans in certain circumstances: removal of provisions allowing a party to use the OCMC website to request redetermination of a repayment plan in circumstances where there has been an admission or part admission that has led to a settlement agreement including a repayment plan, but then the settlement agreement has broken down and judgment is made on the terms of the settlement agreement.
- Requests and applications to change repayment plans in various circumstances: various changes, thus: to clarify the interrelationship between different provisions and procedures for requesting or applying for a change to a repayment plan; to correct form number references for the forms needed to apply for a change to a repayment plan; amendments so that claims must always be sent out of the pilot following an application for redetermination of a repayment plan under paragraph 7.45, irrespective of the nature of the change sought to the repayment plan.
- Clarification of destination of claims sent out of the pilot by legal advisers: to clarify that when a claim is sent out of the pilot by HMCTS legal advisers in certain circumstances, it is sent out to the ‘preferred court” as defined in the PD (at paragraph 1.1 of PD 51R).
- Other changes: Rectifying drafting inconsistencies by introducing one form of spelling for ‘redetermination’ throughout the PD and removal of redundant provisions in relation to directions questionnaires.
Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2021 & the 127 th Practice Direction update
The Statutory Instrument is being published via the Legislation website at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk. The on-line rules/web site will also be updated accordingly.
Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2021 enter into force 06 April 2021.
This SI contains rule changes in respect of:
- Vulnerable witnesses: amends the CPR’s Overriding Objective, following the recommendation in the report by the Civil Justice Council on Vulnerable Witnesses (published in February 2020) in civil proceedings. The amendment makes it clear that dealing with a case justly includes ensuring that the parties can participate fully, and that parties and witnesses can give their best evidence. It also deals with the costs (not Fixed Recoverable Costs) provision for additional work or expense incurred due to vulnerability of a party or witness.
- Service out of the jurisdiction: provides for consequential amendments following Brexit on service of a claim form outside the UK so that permission to serve the claim form is not required in cross border civil and commercial cases where an applicant is seeking to rely upon the ‘Choice of Court Agreements’ (which deals with reciprocal arrangements as to court venue and enforcement). This change was a recommendation from the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law.
- Evidence: the case of Official Receiver v Skeene [2020] EWHC 1252 (Ch)highlighted that currently CPR 32.12 prevents collateral use of witness statements outside the proceedings in which they are served, but there is no equivalent for affidavits. For consistency this amendment provides for the rule regarding collateral use to apply also to affidavits.
- Offers to Settle: following inconsistency in case law, the rule change provides clarity, particularly for litigants in person, that an offer to settle (a “Part 36 offer”) can include accruals of interest but where it is silent on this point, the presumption will be that the offer is inclusive of all interest.
- Judgments: Part 70 is amended to fill a gap in relation to foreign judgments not requiring registration in order to be enforceable (which will include judgments from EU member states for an extended period as a result of the transitional provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement). The amendment clarifies that such a judgment is to be treated for enforcement purposes as if it were a judgment of the High Court or County Court.
- Temporary modifications for coronavirus or other emergency: a new provision is introduced allowing for PDs to modify the rules on a temporary basis to respond to the work of the courts arising from emergencies.
- Debt respite scheme (Breathing space): a new rule is introduced to allow for a PD to provide the court procedure in relation to the operation of the Debt Respite Scheme introduced by HM Treasury and due to come into force in May 2021.
- Amendments arising from changes in contempt proceedings in the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2020: consequential changes which substitute, amend, replace or update Rules in Part 65 (on Anti-Social Behaviour and Harassment orders), Part 71 ( on Orders to Obtain Information from Judgment Debtors); Part 74 (on Enforcement of judgements in different jurisdictions), Part 83 (on Writs and Warrants – general provision) and Part 89 (on Attachment of Earnings).
- Other minor matters/corrections:substitution of modernised wording in some provisions about costs; updates to the list of contents; clarifications on judgments in default in Admiralty proceedings.
127th Practice Direction Update (coming into force variously from 29 January 2021, 30 March 2021 & 06 April 2021)
The Master of the Rolls and the Courts Minister have signed the PD Update.
The amendments made by the 127th PD Update concern:
- Possession Proceedings:amendments are made, in the light of operational experience,to PD55C to extend the interim period from 28 March 2021 to 30 July 2021 and to alter the end of the period for filing and service of a reactivation notice (and related requirements) from 29 January 2021 to 30 April 2021.
- Vulnerable Parties and Witnesses: a new PD1A makes provision for how courts will give effect to the amended Overriding Objective in relation to vulnerable parties or witnesses.
- Service out of jurisdiction:in consequence of the changes contained in the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2021, PD6B is amended to give effect to this rule permitting service out without permission of the court.
- Offers to settle a claim: in consequence of the changes set out at 5.4 above, PD47 is amended so that a “Part 36 offer (to settle a claim)” should not be permitted to exclude interest.
- Pilots: (i) PD 51U Disclosure Pilot in the Business & Property Courts is modified in response to user feedback and (ii) PD 51O Electronic filing and (iii) PD 51X Costs for Summary Assessment are both extended for a further year.
- PD51A made transitional provision when the CPR were first made in 1998. Those provisions are now spent, so the PD is revoked.
- Contempt consequentials: it follows that the following PDs require modification, PD3E (Costs management), PD27 (Small Claims track), PD510 (Electronic Pilot working scheme), PD51X (New statements of cost for summary assessment pilot), PD56 (Landlord and tenant claims and miscellaneous provisions about land) and PD 71 (Orders to obtain information from Judgment Debtors).
- Witness Evidence in the Business & Property Courts (BPC): a new PD 57AC to ensure that witness statements reflect the facts of the case at trial as opposed to a narrative.
- Debt respite scheme (Breathing Space): introduces PD70B as part of the related provisions contained in theCivil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2021, together with consequential changes to PD 4 (court forms).
- Other minor amendments: repeal of the 1965 Nautical Assessors PD which is no longer relevant; correcting a minor error to Sec 6 of the Schedule in PD2E (Jurisdiction of the county court that may be exercised by a legal advisor) and para 2 of PD 2F(Court Sittings); substitutions of words in PD 3E (Costs Management) and in PD 45 (Fixed Costs).
Forms – The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
- The Reactivation Notice (a template form issued by HMCTS) has been updated to reflect the changes to PD55C and is available from Gov.uk
- Form N510, ‘Notice for Service out of the jurisdiction where permission of the court is not required’) and other forms (notably in consequence of Brexit) will be released (via Gov.uk) in due course.
126 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules (BREXIT)
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State have signed the 126 th Practice Direction (PD) Update.
The 126 th PD Update amends an earlier PD Update (the 107 th ) which makes amendments to various PDs in consequence of EU Exit and is due to come into force at the same time as the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/521) which comes into force on Implementation (IP) completion day (11.00 p.m. on 31 December 2020). The new amendments are minor modifications to ensure, or consequential on changes made to existing EU Exit instruments to ensure, alignment with the Withdrawal Agreement.
The changes effected by this PD Update are to:
- Transitional Provision and PD re Applications for a Warrant under the Competition Act 1989
These amendments are to cater for the provisions of the Withdrawal Agreement which provide for the European Commission to have continued competence after IP completion day in relation to certain matters which took place or were commenced before IP completion day. Where the Withdrawal Agreement does not apply, those matters will become matters within the competence of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). The 107 th Update makes amendments so that the procedural provisions of certain PDs refer to the CMA rather than the Commission. This new transitional provision disapplies those amendments for the transitional cases where the Commission continues to have competence, so that for those cases, the relevant PDs will refer to the Commission.
- PD 31C – Disclosure and Inspection in relation to Competition Claims
This simply changes a reference to “exit day” in an amendment made by the 107 th Update so that it refers to “IP completion day”, consistently with the Withdrawal Agreement and the changes made by the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020.
- Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) – Change of Address
The amendments made by the 107 th Update to PD 52D (Statutory Appeals and Appeals subject to Special Provisions) and PD – Competition Law (Claims relating to the application of Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty and Chapters I and II of Part I of the Competition Act 1998) are updated to reflect the CMA’s correct address.
- PD – Application for a Warrant under the Competition Act 1998
These amendments are made to cater for the fact that, as a result of the Withdrawal Agreement, provision made by the State Aid (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 will no longer be required, and those Regulations are withdrawn. Accordingly, it removes from the amendments made by the 107 th Update references to the 2019 Regulations and provision catering for the operation of those Regulations, which are no longer required.
125th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules (OCMC PD 51R)
The Master of the Rolls and the Courts Minister have signed the 125th Practice Direction Update to provide for further functionalities within the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot, PD51R.
The PD is effective immediately i.e. from 11am, 16th November 2020. The pilot PD 51R currently runs until 30 November 2021.
The main changes effected by this PD Update are to:
- move current new features relating to, ‘directions questionnaires online’ and, ‘legal advisers’ into standard features, thus making them more widely available in the pilot.
- make changes in relation to the current mediation new feature, making it available as a standard feature, but subject to a financial filter, so that where the claim is for an amount less than £500, parties have to opt out of mediation; parties for claims above £500 will continue to have to opt in to mediation.
- enable claims where the defence is a defence of the whole of the claim, to continue within the pilot, even though the defendant is only able to operate on paper. If the defendant cannot/does not want to engage on-line, but has no objection to the claim continuing in the pilot, the paper response that they send back to the court will be scanned and uploaded digitally. This allows the claim to be continued in the pilot: the defendant can continue receiving papers while the claimant can continue to engage digitally.
- correct some minor drafting inconsistencies.
124th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Coronavirus Pandemic related and The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.5) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.5) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020have been laid before Parliament.This follows the Lord Chancellor giving written notice to the Civil Procedure Rule Committee under s. 3A Civil Procedure Act 1997 that he thought it expedient that the Committee include provision in the rules that would extend the stay on possession proceedings.
The rules amend the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 55 to extend the existing stay on all possession proceedings brought under this Part and all enforcement proceedings by way of writ or warrant of possession. In consequence, the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2020 are also amended to align the coming into force of some provisions with the new end date of the extended stay.
The rules, which come into force on Saturday 22 August, extend the existing stay for four weeks, to 20 September 2020, with the intention of avoiding any gap in the operation of the stay on possession proceedings and providing for a short extension to allow time for final preparations and procedural arrangements to be made for the resumption of possession cases in the courts, with a view to ensuring that the civil justice system is accessible, fair and efficient.
The enabling Statutory Instrument will be published via the Legislation website here: http://www.legislation.gov.uk. The on-line rules/web site will then be updated accordingly.
The related PD amendments are contained in the 124 th Practice Direction Update which the Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chancellor have both signed the PD Update:
Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 & the 123rd Practice Direction Update
Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020(coming into force on 23 August 2020)
The Statutory Instrument is being published via the Legislation website at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk. The on-line rules/web site will also be updated accordingly.
This follows The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020, which came into effect on 25 June 2020 and amended the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 55 to provide for a stay of all possession proceedings brought under this Part and all enforcement proceedings by way of writ or warrant of possession which expires on 23 August 2020.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 provides for a further amendment to CPR Part 55 to introduce a new temporary Practice Direction (Practice Direction 55C) for how claims under this Part (including appeals) are to proceed following the expiry of the stay provided for by rule 55.29. The provisions relate partly to the resumption of proceedings following lifting of the stay and partly to new cases issued after the stay has ceased.
123 rd Practice Direction Update (coming into force on 23 rd August 2020)
The Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chancellor have signed the PD Update.
In consequence of the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020, above, a new Practice Direction, PD55C is introduced. The main changes are:
- To require a claimant who wishes to continue the proceedings after the expiry of the stay to provide a “reactivation notice” informing the court (and defendant) in writing of this (without which the case will remain dormant).
- Where the claim includes non-payment of rent, that the particulars of claim set out what knowledge (if any) that party has as to the effect of the Coronavirus pandemic on the Defendant and their dependants
- Suspends the standard period between issue of a claim form and hearing which would usually be not more than eight weeks.
- Encourages a claimant to produce the full arrears history in advance rather than at the hearing.
- Due to expire on the 28March 2021.
Forms – The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
Given the temporary and urgent nature of the changes, no existing possession proceedings forms are being modified, nor any new forms being introduced, as a result of the new PD55C.
Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2020 & the 122 nd Practice Direction Update
The Statutory Instrument is being published via the Legislation website at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk. The on-line rules/web site will also be updated accordingly.
Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2020(coming into force on different dates for different provisions, mostly on 1 October 2020, but with some provisions coming into force on 23August 2020, & some immediately after the amendments made to Part 34 by the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/521) (which will be 31 December 2020).
The SI contains rule changes in respect of:
- Cost Budgeting and Variations:rationalises the current structure of the rules on variations to cost budgets. The changes have reduced the existing structure which involved three sources of rules (CPR Rules, a PD and a lengthy Guidance Note) into two documents, a set of rules and a PD which is intended only to include practice guidance.
- Welsh Judicial Reviews: makes provision for any claim against Welsh public bodies which challenges the lawfulness of their decisions to be issued and heard in Wales. This follows the recommendation in the 2019 report of the Commission for Justice in Wales. There is also an amendment to PD 54D to supplement the amendments made to the rule (7.1A).
- Requests for Evidence following Brexit: provides for a revised procedure for taking of evidence for use in foreign proceedings following the end of the EU exit transition period, after which the EU Taking of Evidence Regulation will no longer operate as between the UK and the EU member States, and requests will proceed under the relevant Hague Convention.
- Contempt of Court reforms: the new Part 81 reforms procedural rules on contempt of court for all types of contempt in the CPR. Following a public consultation, extensive revisions have been undertaken to condense the previous rules and to set out a uniform procedure. The new Part 81 reduces the number of rules from 38 to 10 and dispenses with two PDs (one from the Lord Chief Justice) and a Practice Guidance (PG) document (from the Lord Chief Justice). Please keep abreast via the Family Procedure Rules web pages of the parallel changes anticipated to be made to the FPR.
- Tainted Acquittals: provides for time limits for an application to the High Court under section 54(3) of the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996 (Acquittals tainted by intimidation, etc.). This follows a request from the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee arising from Director of Public Prosecutions v Goldsmith [2019] EWHC 3051 (Admin). This amendment provides for an application for an order quashing an acquittal under this section to be made within 28 days.
- False Statements: introduces a contempt provision in relation to a person who makes a false statement in a document, before (i.e. during the pre-action protocol stage) or during proceedings.
- Legal Adviser Unless Order provisions: this provides for an additional delegated power to legal advisors to order a party, in certain Final Charging Order proceedings, to file specific material with the court.
- Possession provisions: aligns procedures for enforcement of possession of the High Court and the county court. Specifically, to provide for a notice period to be given by the enforcement officer/bailiff to a tenant/occupier before eviction in private and social housing as well as commercial property/land. It also provides for the removal of the issue of a writ requiring judicial permission. This follows a public consultation in May 2019, but also supports the provisions contained in the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 & the 123 rd Practice Direction Update, concerning possession proceedings. Because of this, these changes are due to come into effect on 23August 2020.
- Other amendments: makes amendments to tables on Fixed Costs and sign posts the amendments in relation to PD52C on Appeals from the Admiralty Court to the Court of Appeal.
122 nd Practice Direction Update (coming into force variously from 27 July 2020, 23August 2020 & 01 October 2020)
The Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chancellor have signed the PD Update.
The PD Update concerns:
- Cost Budgeting and Variations: the new PD 3E which is substituted, makes changes in relation to: documents to be lodged for costs budgeting purposes; what reports should set out and what the court will consider when reviewing budgeted costs. A new form, Precedent T, is being introduced.
- Statements of Truth: changes are made to a number of PDs to provide consistency with changes made in the 113th Update to PD22 on this matter. Various consequential changes to prescribed court forms are also being made. They should be released in October. Existing forms can continue to be used in the interim.
- Evidence: gives effect to a recommendation of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee’s Lacuna Sub-Committee, agreed with the Family Procedure Rule Committee, to make it clear that the provisions of PD27A supplementing the Family Procedure Rules will govern what happens in relation to the trial bundle, when the trial is in the Family Division.
- Requests for Evidence following Brexit: the amendments to PD34 provide for a new procedure for the making of requests for the taking of evidence, primarily under the relevant Hague Convention, when the EU Taking of Evidence Regulation ceases to have effect at the end of the Transition Period following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU.
- Financial Markets Test Case Pilot Scheme ends the pilot following the move into the rules as a mainstream PD.
- Disclosure Pilot for the Business and Property Courts -is extended for a further year.
- Video Hearings Pilot Scheme is extended for a further four months to 31 March 2021.
- PD51R (Online Civil Money Claims Pilot) is amended to reflect an operational relocation, to allow bulk scanning and to reduce the time for applying for a judicial reconsideration of a decision made by a legal adviser.
- PD51S (County Court Online Pilot) is amended to update formally the website link, which is https://www.moneyclaim-legal.platform.hmcts.net/., to clarify that claimants using the pilot cannot apply for fee remission before filing their claim and to make changes to statement of truth provisions to bring them into line with other statement of truth provisions in the CPR.
- Appeals to the Court of Appeal: this provision amends PD52C, replacing PD (CA: Admiralty Appeals: Assessors), [1965] 1 W.L.R. 853 (1965). The amendment clarifies that, in an appeal from a decision of the Admiralty Court, where the court was assisted by nautical assessors, the Court of Appeal will be assisted by two assessors (one each from Trinity House and the Company of Master Mariners), unless the Court of Appeal otherwise directs.
- Welsh Judicial Reviews: consequential changes to PD54D to supplement the amendments made to the new rule 7.1A, explained above.
- Birmingham Commonwealth Games: in consequence of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games Act 2020, PD63 is amended to make provision concerning intellectual property rights in relation to the Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
- Contempt of Court: as a consequence of the reforms set out above to CPR Part 81, PD81 is revoked and PD4 is updated to remove disused court forms and insert references to the new court forms to be used in relation to contempt. Further consequential amendments are also made to: PDs 22, 31A, 32, 40B, 51R, 51S and Practice Direction: Committal for contempt of court – open court, made by the Lord Chief Justice on 26 March 2015. Additionally, an amendment to the Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols PD makes it clear that contempt sanctions may apply in relation to a false statement made before the commencement of proceedings where the statement is made in a pre-action protocol letter or other document prepared in anticipation of proceedings. This mirrors an amendment to Rule 32.14 made because of the Jet 2 Holidays Ltd v Hughes [2019] EWCA Civ 1858 case.
- Terminology: PD7E is amended to update terminology.
Forms – The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
- Updated Statement of Truth: various changes to prescribed court forms are being made in consequence of the amended Statement of Truth. The revised forms are due to be released in October 2020. Existing forms can continue to be used in the interim.
- Costs – a new Precedent T: is to be used in the event of variation of a budget pursuant to rule 3.15A and is therefore being introduced as part of the changes to PD3E from 01 October 2020, however, in the interests of helpfulness, Precedent T can be viewed here now.
- Contempt of Court: as per the changes to PD4 above, the current suite of forms for contempt are being replaced by a new set of five, bespoke, forms: N600 Contempt Application; N601 Summons under rule 81.6(3); N602 Warrant to Secure Attendance at Court under rule 81.7(2); N603 Order under rule 81.9; N604 Warrant of Committal under rule 81.9. The new forms are due to be released in time for 01 October 2020. Existing forms can continue to be used in the interim.
- Possession Enforcement – a revised Form N54 Notice of Eviction is being introduced for both High Court and county court proceedings, to be effective from 23August 2020.
Other news
121 st Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Coronavirus Pandemic related
Amendments to Practice Direction 51Z to Stay Possession Proceedings and The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020
The Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chancellor have signed an Amending Practice Direction, which amends Practice Direction 51Z in relation to possession proceedings during the Coronavirus pandemic.
PD51Z came into effect on 27 March 2020 (under the 117 th PD Update), suspending possession proceedings brought under CPR Part 55 for a period of 90 days to 25 June 2020. An Amending Practice Direction (under the 120 th PD Update) was further issued to clarify elements of PD51Z on 18 April 2020.
Now, following a review, the 121 st PD Update is being issued, intended to provide for two further clarifying amendments effecting the existing stay under PD51Z.
The Amending PD is effective immediately ie from today, 10 June 2020
The amendments are intended to clarify that:
- during the stay, courts are not required to give any notice to parties,
- nor does time run (in relation to time limits) during the stay,
- the PD ceases to have effect on 25June 2020, when the new rule (below) comes into effect.
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 has been laid before Parliament. It followed the Lord Chancellor giving written notice to the Civil Procedure Rule Committee under s. 3A Civil Procedure Act 1997 that he thought it expedient that the Committee include provision that would extend the stay on possession proceedings imposed by Practice Direction 51Z for a period of eight weeks and to address points of detail that have arisen during the course of the operation of the pilot Practice Direction 51Z.
The rules will temporarily amend the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 Part 55 to stay all possession proceedings brought under this Part and all enforcement proceedings by way of writ or warrant of possession.
It is intended to:
- avoid any gap in the operation of the stay on possession proceedings,
- come into force on Thursday 25 June 2020 for eight weeks,
- expire on 23 August 2020.
The enabling Statutory Instrument will be published via the Legislation website in due course at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk. The on-line rules/web site will then be updated accordingly.
News Item: Practice Direction 51S The County Court Online Pilot
Please note that the web link quoted in PD 51S at paragraph 1.5 (www.moneyclaim.reform.hmcts.net) is out of date. The new web link to the website that hosts “the County Court Online” can be found at :https://www.moneyclaim-legal.platform.hmcts.net/. For completeness, this web link will be formally reflected in the PD in due course.
120 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Coronavirus Pandemic related
Amendments to Practice Direction 51Z to Stay Possession Proceedings
The Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chancellor have signed an Amending Practice Direction, which amends Practice Direction 51Z (PD) in relation to possession proceedings during the Coronavirus pandemic; PD51Z was first issued by way of the 117 th Practice Direction Update on 27 March 2020.
The Amending PD is effective immediately ie from today, 18/04/2020
The amendments are intended to clarify that:
- the stay which PD 51Z imposes on possession proceedings does not apply to a claim against trespassers to which rule 55.6 applies
- the stay which PD51Z imposes does not apply to applications for, and the making of, interim possession orders under Section III of CPR Pt 55, the making of such an order, hearings required by rule 55.25(4), and applications under rule 55.28(1).
- parties to possession proceedings can make applications for case management directions where they are agreed by the parties. This will facilitate the proper administration of justice, as such agreed orders can be considered on the papers they will not involve party attendance at court. Moreover, they will enable possession proceedings to resume effectively once the 90-day stay has otherwise expired.
- the stay which PD51Z imposes does not preclude the issue of claims, but simply stays claims.
- like the original PD, it is being issued to ensure that the administration of justice including the enforcement of orders, is carried out so as not to endanger public health and in recognition of limited court resources during the pandemic.
- The PD ceases to have effect on 30 th October 2020.
119 th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Online Civil Money Claims in support of the Covid-19 effort
Updated Practice Direction 51R
The Master of the Rolls and the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Justice have signed amendments to Practice Direction 51R in relation to the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) pilot scheme.
The PD amendments made by this Update came into force on 14 April 2020 and apply in relation to all claims submitted to the court on or after 11.00 a.m. on that date.
The main changes effected by this PD are to:
- Enable a judge within the OCMC pilot to consider Directions Questionnaires online and make directions irrespective of the value of the claim;
- Remove geographical restrictions on HMCTS Legal Adviser powers, allowing Legal Advisers to consider Directions Questionnaires online and make necessary directions irrespective of which court is the “preferred court” for any hearing that may be necessary to consider a claim. However, other restrictions on Legal Adviser powers remain, including the limit of the value of the claim (up to £300) for which Legal Advisers can consider Directions Questionnaires online;
- Expand the general directions making powers of the court where a claim is sent out of the OCMC pilot so that the court can make directions about the future management of the claim, rather than only directions about how the claim is to be sent out.
- Although these modifications are being expedited in support of the Covid-19 effort, they are being made as part of the ongoing process of building the Online Civil Money Claims process under Court Reform and as such, unless varied, they remain in force under the current terms of PD51R, which has a review date of 30 November 2021.
118th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Coronavirus Pandemic related
New Practice Direction 51ZA Extension of Time Limits and Clarification of PD51Y
The Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chancellor have signed Practice Direction 51ZA (PD) principally in relation to the extension of time limits during the Coronavirus pandemic.
The PD is effective immediately ie from today, 2 April 2020
The main changes effected by this PD are:
- Allows the parties to agree an extension up to 56 days without formally notifying the court (rather than the current 28 days), so long as that does not put a hearing date at risk;
- Any extension of more than 56 days needs to be agreed by the court;
- The court is required to take into account the impact of the pandemic in considering such applications, as well as applications for adjournment and relief from sanction;
- The PD also clarifies the audio and video hearing PD 51Y (the 116th PD Update) by making clear that a person seeking permission to listen to or view a recording of a hearing may do so by request and is not required to make a formal application under the CPR.
- The PD ceases to have effect on 30th October 2020.
The position will remain under review.
For the avoidance of doubt, this PD does not change the operation of the provisions of PD51Z (set out under the 117th PD Update on 27 March 2020) which provides for the 90 days stay concerning possession proceedings.
117th Practice Direction Update to the Civil Procedure Rules – Coronavirus Pandemic related
New Practice Direction 51Z to Stay Possession Proceedings
The Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chancellor have signed Practice Direction 51Z (PD) in relation to possession proceedings during the Coronavirus pandemic. It follows the Coronavirus Act 2020 emergency legislation and complements the provisions therein to prevent imminent evictions and delay possession proceedings.
The PD is effective immediately ie from today, 27th March 2020
The main changes effected by this PD are:- All proceedings for possession brought under CPR Part 55 and all proceedings seeking to enforce an order for possession by a warrant or writ of possession are stayed for a period of 90 days from today, 27th March 2020.
- Claims for injunctive relief are not subject to the stay set out in paragraph 2 of the PD.
- The PD ceases to have effect on 30 October 2020.
116th PD Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Practice Direction on Video or Audio Hearings in Civil Proceedings during the Coronavirus Pandemic
New Practice Direction 51Y
The Master of the Rolls and the Lord Chancellor have signed Practice Direction 51Y (PD) in relation to video or audio hearings during the Coronavirus pandemic. It is a technical amendment, which clarifies the manner in which the court may exercise its discretion to conduct hearings remotely in private. It also clarifies what steps the court may make to ensure access by the public to remote hearings that have been held in private through making available audio or video recordings of those hearings at a time when the courts are operating normally.
The PD is introduced as a pilot scheme under CPR Pt 51. It is intended to formalise the PD through a rule amendment at the earliest opportunity. It will remain in force for no longer than the Coronavirus Bill is intended to remain in force.
The main changes effected by this PD:
- clarify that the court may exercise the power to hold a remote hearing in private where it is not possible for the hearing to be simultaneously broadcast in a court building. It may do so consistently with the power to derogate from the principle of open justice and may do so under the provisions of this PD in addition to the bases for doing so set out in CPR 39.2. Where such an order is made under the PD the provisions in CPR 39.2(5) do not apply;
- confirm that the court may not conduct a remote hearing in private where arrangements can be made for a member of the media to access the remote hearing. It makes clear that in such circumstances the court will be conducting the hearing in public;
- clarifies that the court may direct that where it conducts a remote hearing in private, must, where it is practicable to do so, order that the hearing is recorded. Where it has power to do so, it may order the hearing to be video recorded, otherwise where a recording is to be made it should be an audio recording. Available powers to order such hearings to be recorded, and subsequently broadcast, apply to the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) through The Court of Appeal (Recording and Broadcasting) Order 2013 and are expected to apply more generally through s.85A of the Courts Act 2003, which is intended to be inserted by the Coronavirus Bill;
- Where a remote hearing is either audio or video recorded, any person may apply to the court for permission to access the recording.
114th & 115th PD Updates to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to Practice Directions are contained, respectively, in the 114 th and 115 th Updates to the Civil Procedure Rules.
The changes in the 114 th PD Update come into force 24 February 2020 and the changes in the 115 th PD Update come into force on 06 April 2020.
An explanatory note is below and the full PD Updates are accessible via:
The amendments and commencement dates are:
114th Practice Direction Update (effective on 24th February 2020)
This provides for changes to PD 51R Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot as follows:
- Extension of powers: Judges within the pilot will be able to consider form OCON180 (the online Directions Questionnaires) and give appropriate directions. Legal advisors already consider form OCON180, where the value of the claim is £300 or less, in consequence, it was considered appropriate for Judges to act in relation to claims above that value and up to £1,000;
- Statements of Truth (contempt warning) Wording: the form of statements of truth set out in paragraph 13.1(1) and (2) will include a statement that the statement maker understands that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against anyone who makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without honest belief in its truth;
- Increase the number of pilot courts: legal advisers will be able to consider an increased number of online Directions Questionnaires (form OCON180), by increasing the list of “preferred courts” that could be named on a party’s form OCON180, triggering consideration by a legal advisor. Table 1A within the new paragraph 20.1(1)(c) of PD51R sets out the list of courts and their respective commencement dates;
- Moves the online admissions process out of “new features” into the main pilot; the effect is that the online admissions process will be generally available to those using the pilot, rather than only to selected parties, which was necessary for initial live testing;
- Streamlines some terminology in the PD; and
- Requires statements of truth to be dated.
115th Practice Direction Update (effective on 2nd March 2020)
This provides for changes to PD 51V Video Hearing Pilot Scheme as follows:
Recommences the Video Hearings Pilot, which was set up to test a procedure for applications to set aside default judgments entered under CPR Part 12 to be heard by the court via an internet-enabled video link (“a video hearing”) in Birmingham or Manchester Civil Justice Centres. The original pilot ran from 30th November 2018 to 30th November 2019.
HM Courts & Tribunal Service is keen to continue testing hearings to allow them to gain further insight into users’ experience of a fully video hearing. The terms of the new PD are fundamentally the same as the existing PD51V, save for one change, that an ‘opt out’ rather than an ‘opt in’ condition is incorporated for represented parties.
The PD Update allows for the pilot to run to 30 November 2020.
113 th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to Practice Directions are contained in the 113 th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules. The changes come into force variously on 31 March 2020 and 06 April 2020.
An explanatory note is below and the full PD Update accessible via this link:
Please also note that the Statutory Instrument (SI) detailing rule changes is anticipated to be effective variously from 30 th March 2020 and 06 April 2020. However, this is subject to Parliamentary approval and will, ultimately be published via the Legislation website http://www.legislation.gov.uk. When approved the on-line rules/web site will be updated accordingly.
The amendments and commencement dates are expected to be:
SI (anticipated to be effective variously on 30 March 2020 & 06 April 2020) to contains rule changes in respect of:
- CPR 12.3 – Entry of Default Judgments: to clarify the rule to allow an acknowledgment of service or a defence to be a bar to the entry of judgment in default where it is filed before judgment is entered.
- CPR 52.22(1) – Disclosure of Part 36 offers on appeal: to make it clear that the court may have a hearing of both substantive issues and costs issues and that in such circumstances the usual restrictions on informing the court of a Part 36 offer (to settle the claim) is removed.
- CPR 52.24 and CPR 54.1 – CILEX Fellows: to allow court staff who are Fellows of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (as well as those who are barristers or solicitors) to be able to be authorised to perform certain functions of the court.
- CPR 53.2 – Media and Communications (MAC) list: to make it clear that the Judge in Charge of the MAC List will be nominated by the President of the Queen’s Bench Division.
- CPR 55.11 & CPR 55.12 -Housing matters: rule 55is amended by substituting a revised rule to remove Demoted Tenancies and Oral Tenancy Agreement cases, albeit rare, from the Accelerated Possession process.
- CPR Part 73 – Legal Advisers Final Charging Order provisions: to move the provisions of the current pilot (contained in Practice Direction 51T ‘The County Court Legal Advisers Pilot Scheme – Final Charging Orders’) to business as usual. The pilot has been in operation successfully since August 2018. It enables legal advisers (court officers with legal qualifications), in certain circumstances, to make Final Charging Orders, discharge Interim Charging Orders, or to refer the matter to a judge. It also allows for decisions of a Legal Adviser to be reconsidered by a District Judge.
113 th PD Update (effective variously on 31 st March 2020 & 06 April 2020) contains changes in respect of:
- PD 16– Credit Hire modifications: in response to a CPRC consultation of June 2017, and are intended to reinforce the requirement to plead specific matters in credit hire cases.
- PD 22 & PD 32 – Statements of Truth and Witness translation: together these amendments represent a package of changes to address the issue of cases where a witness statement is presented in English but where, notwithstanding signature of the statement, the witness cannot speak English and the statement is not necessarily “in their own words”. The changes aim to make it possible for such cases to be identified much earlier in the process. Additional changes to PD22 require a statement of truth to be dated with the date that it is signed; the required wording of the actual statement of truth is also amended to include a warning that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against those who give a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth.
- PD 44 – Costs: following the case of Brown v. CPM [2019] EWCA Civ 1724 (at paragraph 57 of the judgment) regarding the possibility of enforcing an order for costs for personal injury claims, in “mixed” claims. The court in Brown considered the wording of paragraph 12.6 of Practice Direction 44 to be wrong and to require urgent amendment. The amendment changes the reference to proceedings being ones “to which rule 44.16 applies” with a narrower and more accurate reference to proceedings to which one of two specific provisions in issue apply.
- PD51O – Extension of E-working Pilot: extends the duration of the Electronic Working Pilot Scheme PD51O for a year from April 2020 to April 2021.
- PD52A – Routes of Appeal: a package of amendments concerning appeals. The first amendment is directed to the issue raised by Topping v. Ralph [2017] EWHC 1854 to restore the general principle that the destination of an appeal is governed by the rank of Judge who dealt with the case at first instance; and the second removes the restriction limiting the class of judge able to deal with directions and applications to those able to hear the appeal.
- PD52D – Bar Standards Board: updates the reference to the rules under which decisions of the Bar Standards Board which are being appealed were made, so that it refers to the new Qualification Rules.
- Proceedings Under Enactments Relating to Equality PD: follows concerns that the provision for notification to be provided to the Commission for Equality and Human Rights, intended to benefit claimants by allowing for the possibility of intervention or other support by the Commission, should not result in a sanction against a claimant who failed to comply with the requirement.
- Other minor/consequential amendments: to PD2B to omit paragraph 16 (Appeals) in consequence of the changes to PD52A above; to PD2E and PD51R being consequential amendments resulting from the change in the SI above regarding CILEX Fellows; to PD7E which is a minor amendment to include an updated email address and to omit PD51T as a consequence of the change in the SI above to move the provisions of the pilot PD into the mainstream rules.
Forms -The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
One of the drivers for the review of these forms was the introduction of the Tenant Fees Act 2019 (in June 2019) which also led to the rule changes set out within the SI above, to be effective from 06 April 2020. Consequential changes are therefore being made to the following Housing Possession related forms. The revised forms will be issued under separate cover, thus:
- N5B (England)– the Claim form for possession of a property located wholly in England (accelerated procedure) and the related Defence form N11B (England). The revised forms will be issued in readiness of an April 2020 implementation to coincide with the associated rule changes, above.
- N5B (Wales)– the Claim form for possession of a property located wholly in Wales (accelerated procedure) and the related Defence form N11B (Wales) The revised forms are currently being translated into Welsh and will be issued in due course, for immediate use.
Take Notice & Looking Ahead
- Court Reform: Two further PD Updates are anticipated imminently as a result the HMCTS Reform Programme. These updates are subject to final approval, but anticipated to include the next series of adaptions to the Online Civil Money Claims Pilot scheme (PD51R and any consequential changes to PD51S) along with other possible changes. The associated PD Update/s will be issued as soon as possible, in the usual way, once approved.
- CPRC Minutes: The process for distributing approved minutes of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) meetings is changing. The Secretariat is in the process of arranging for minutes to be made accessible on the CPRC website at https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-procedure-rules-committee, rather than distributing them via email. It is anticipated that this will be introduced this month. Minutes will continue to be emailed in the interim and for a transitional period thereafter. Anyone unable to access minutes via the web (and require them in an alternative format) should advise the Secretariat.
Pursuant to the resolution of the November 2019 CPRC meeting the Master of the Rolls has approved the following with a commencement date of 13 January 2020.
A summary is below and the full PAP amendments are available on the Justice website.
Pre Action Protocols -The following PAPs have been either created or modified as part of this update:
The PAP Update covers:
- The amended Possession Claims by Social Landlords PAP (the Rent PAP) – this is essentially a tidying up exercise and in doing so includes accelerated possessions within the PAP. It will apply to England and Wales. The whole of the new PAP will thus apply to England and Wales and will replace the old PAP.
- The revised Housing Disrepair PAP(theDisrepair PAP) – this has been updated to include limited amendments consequent on the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018. As Wales does not have the Fitness For Habitation Act, Wales will retain the old Repair PAP and England alone gets the new PAP. The CPRC sub committee were further mandated to conduct a fuller review (as well as producing this immediate update) as an opportunity to strengthen the PAP still further and revise it to reflect experience in practice since its initial adoption; it is currently consulting with specific stakeholders with a view to report back to the CPRC in early 2020. The attached version is therefore an interim revision to ensure the PAP reflects the new legislation and is therefore up to date in the immediate/medium term.
Looking ahead:
Further communications will be issued in or around February 2020 to detail the next “mainstream” CPR Update, which, subject to Parliamentary approval is due to come in to force in/around April 2020.
Take Notice:
Form N260B: An issue was brought to the attention of the CPRC Costs Sub Committee where the ‘Trial Total’ in cell 86H was being incorrectly calculated. This issue has now been corrected and an updated version of form N260B is on the Justice website. However, for future reference, the ‘Guidance’ Tab contains directions on how to make adjustments to the form yourself if any other operational issues come to light.
112th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
An explanatory note is below and the full PD Update accessible via this link:
112 th Practice Direction Update (effective from 28 November 2019) to the Civil Procedure Rules:
- Provides for a narrow, technical amendment to the working of the in-force provisions of the 111 th PD Update.
- The 111 th PD Update included amendments to PD 51R – Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot in relation to IT changes to OCMC, which were to apply to all claims submitted on or after the in-force date of 9 September 2019.
- The provisions on coming into force were applied to all the amendments included in the 111 th Update. This included amendments not just on IT changes, but also amendments extending the duration of both the OCMC Pilot (and the County Court Online Pilot, PD 51S), so that the pilots continue in operation until 30November 2021.
- As there may be claims that were begun before the in-force date for the 111 th Update (ie 9September 2019) that could still be in the OCMC Pilot beyond the previous pilot end date of 30 November 2019, the 112 th PD Update ensures that in-force provisions in the 111 th Update in relation to the OCMC Pilot are amended, to make it clear that the extension of the pilot / Practice Direction will apply to pre-existing claims.
111th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to Practice Directions are contained in the 111th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules and are effective from 11am on 09 September 2019.
A summary is below and the full PD Update accessible via this link:
The amendments provide for the following:
- PD51R Online Civil Money Claims Pilot (OCMC)
The OCMC service went live to the public in March 2018. It offers a digitial service for specified money claims not exceeding £10k. Over the course of the pilot, the OCMC project has added additional features to the claim process, which has necessitated various past updates to PD51R. These changes have included amendments to allow testing on selected claims of a full/part admission stage of a civil money claim, including a formula calculator to capture and assess a defendant’s means, and provision for the defendant to state they have already paid in full the amount claimed.
- PD51S County Court Online (CCO)
The CCO Project went live in September 2017. It offers a digital service for specified and unspecified money claims. This alternative service for professional users is available to legal representatives on an invitation-only basis, and is less advanced than the OCMC Project and is governed by Practice Direction 51S.
Changes to PD 51R Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot:
- To extend the pilot to 30 November 2021 (from 30 November 2019) to enable further IT development and testing.
- To release several new features for testing on selected claims:
- A new online Directions Questionnaire (DQ), instead of the existing small claims DQ paper form, so that information can be collected from the parties in a more streamlined manner. There will also be an additional question to the DQ online process requiring information to support those requiring additional arrangements, such as sign language, interpreter services or disabled access.
- A presumption of mediation for certain defended claims as part of an ‘opt out’ online process. This means that, unless parties decide to ‘opt- out of mediation’, the case will proceed to mediation, and the court will refer the matter to the Small Claims Mediation Service if appropriate. This will reverse the current process whereby the claim is only referred to mediation if the parties opt in to mediation.
- HMCTS Legal Advisors; to enable legal advisors to exercise certain functions in relation to selected claims within the OCMC pilot, in particular to issue directions in claims where the amount claimed is £300 or less. This will create a new online framework for case progression in a phased approach, and will be supervised by the Judiciary initially across four pilot sites of Birmingham, Edmonton, Manchester and Clerkenwell and Shoreditch.
- To remove Section 7C of PD51R which caters for the situation where a defendant part admits a claim, but makes no further response. This is because it is not possible for a defendant to part admit a claim and remain silent as to the balance; the balance is defended. Accordingly, Section 7C is removed as unnecessary.
- Paid in full Defence; to expand the testing of a new feature relating to the handling of a defence because the claim has been paid in full. By these amendments the process will be available in relation to all forms of defence of the whole of the claim.
- Email Communication; to ensure consistency and comprehensiveness in relation to the expression of time, and to include references to email communication in the provisions on timing.
Changes to PD51S County Court Online (CCO)
- To extend the pilot to 30 November 2021 (from 30 November 2019) to enable further IT development and testing.
Forms -The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
None associated with this update, save for the introduction and modification of an online DQ within OCMC, see above for further details.
Take Notice & Looking Ahead:
- The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) Secretariat is now operating a new email address. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the secretariat via CPRC@justice.gov.uk
- The next routine Statutory Instrument (SI) updating the CPR is anticipated to be laid before Parliament in February 2020 for commencement in April 2020, subject to Parliamentary approval. The contents of said SI and accompanying Practice Direction (PD) Update is not yet known, but usual practice would be that items for inclusion will be assembled from decisions made by the Civil Procedure Rule Committee at its meetings between July and December 2019 inclusive. However, it may be that further PD Updates are necessary in the interim and if so, they will be communicated in the usual way.
110th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to Practice Directions are contained in the 110th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules and are effective from 07 October 2019.
A summary is below and the full PD Update accessible via this link:
The amendments provide for the following:
- Extends the application of the existing Electronic Working Pilot Scheme (PD51O) to within the Senior Courts Costs Office (SCCO) and
- Related changes to the Procedure for Detailed Assessment of Costs and Default Provisions (PD47) by modifying para 5.1A and adding para 5.1B.
The changes are, therefore, modest and straightforward. Essentially, adding the SCCO to the list of jurisdictions to which the pilot Practice Direction 51O applies, and indicates the applicable start and end dates.
The existing scheme under PD51O came in by way of the 100th PD Update which introduced a pilot scheme for electronic working in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court and that became effective from 1st January 2019, operating until 6th April 2020. The out-of-London Business and Property Court centres were added by way of the 105th PD Update on 25th February 2019.
The SCCO is part of the High Court. Broadly, it assesses the costs and expenses incurred in civil litigation in order to decide how much (i) a successful party can recover from their opponent (ii) a barrister or solicitor can recover from public funds (iii) a client should have to pay their solicitor. The SCCO can reduce these costs and expenses if necessary. It also deals with Appeals against costs decisions made by the Legal Aid Agency.
The SCCO jurisdiction includes some proceedings which are not governed by the CPR (for example Court of Protection and Criminal cases) and they will be the subject of a Practice Note by the Senior Costs Judge; consequently they are not part of this PD Update.
Forms -The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
None associated with this update.
Take Notice & Looking Ahead
*The Civil Procedure Rule Committee Secretariat is now operating a new email address. If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact the secretariat via CPRC@justice.gov.uk.
*The next series of adaptions to the Online Civil Money Claims Pilot scheme (PD51R and consequential changes to PD51S) is due out imminently and possibly for immediate effect. It is therefore anticipated to be the 111th PD Update and will be issued in the usual way, once approved.
Revised Costs Forms N260A & N260B re CPR PD51X Costs for Summary Assessment Pilot
Since the April 2019 release of forms N260A and N260B in support of the Costs for Summary Assessment Pilot Scheme PD51X within the 104 th PD Update, the forms have been further modified in response to user feedback.
Forms N260A (which applies when the costs have been incurred on an interim application) and N260B (which applies when the costs have been incurred up to trial) have been revised and updated. In summary, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee’s Costs Sub Committee have:
- Identified some general areas that could be presented in a better way
- Redrafted the guidance notes (contained at Tab 6 on each form), which are quite detailed but serve to address the issues raised by court users
- Ensured the same information is being obtained, but changed the layout and used the same language as in Precedent S (where possible) in the interests of consistency
- Not changed the PD itself. However, please note that Word/pdf versions are not being issued. Please use the excel versions for this pilot from now on.
109th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to Practice Directions are contained in the 109th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules and associated Pre Action Protocol Amendments.
A summary is below and the full PD Update accessible via this link:
The PAP amendments are accessible via this/these link/s:
The amendments cover:
- Allocation of cases to levels of Judiciary (PD 2B) – District Judges’ Committal Powers effective from 01 October 2019: to remove a current inconsistency. Currently, the prohibition in paragraph 8.1, on allocating to a District Judge in the County Court, applications for orders and interim applications which may not be granted by a District Judge in the High Court, is inconsistent with changes previously made to CPR Parts 65 and 85 and Practice Direction 2B allowing for committal applications in the County Court to be dealt with by District Judges without the need for specific authorisation by a Designated Civil Judge. This amendment will, therefore, make it clear that the prohibition is subject to the remaining provisions of Practice Direction 2B.
- Costs Management (PD 3E) effective from 01 October 2019: provides clearer guidance on the cut-off between budgeted costs and incurred costs, drawing the line between costs incurred up to and including the date of the first costs management hearing (incurred costs) and costs to be incurred after that date (budgeted costs). Updated guidance to Precedent H (Budget setting tool) is available on Justice.
- Media & Communications List effective from 01 October 2019: as a consequence of the related rule change explained above there are a suite of changes necessary to establish the Media and Communications List, which was created in May 2017 but not reflected in the CPR. In addition to this amendment to Practice Direction 7A (How to start proceedings – the Claim Form), significant amendments are made to Practice Direction 40F (for which a new Practice Direction 40F is substituted), Part 53 (for which a new Part 53 is substituted), Practice Direction 53 (for which a new Practice Direction, renumbered as Practice Direction 53B, is substituted) and the Pre-Action Protocol for Defamation Cases (for which a new Pre-Action Protocol for Media and Communication Claims is substituted) and a new Practice Direction, numbered as Practice Direction 53A (Transferring proceedings to and from the Media and Communications List), is inserted.
- Claims for the Recovery of Taxes and Duties (PD 7D) effective from 01 July 2019: provides parity for Wales by enabling the Welsh Revenue Authority to use the simplified procedure provided for in Practice Direction 7D for the recovery of devolved taxes in the same way as HMRC is able to use it for reserved taxes.
- Small Claims Track (PD27) effective from 01 July 2019: is consequential on the changes made in the 104th Update and the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2019 (S.I. 2019/342) which amended Part 39 and Practice Direction 39A, which now contain consolidated provision about when hearings are to be in public or in private. Currently, PD27 para 4.1(2)(a) states that the judge may decide to hold the hearing in private in a small claims track case if the parties agree. Although the judge is not bound to accept that the parties’ agreement is a sufficient basis for deciding to hold the hearing in private, para 4.1(2)(a) suggests that the judge could decide that was a sufficient basis. Even before the recent amendments to CPR 39.2, that was not the law. The parties cannot combine to defeat the public’s right to open justice except in cases where the court is satisfied that one of a number of criteria apply and, in addition, that a private hearing is necessary to secure the proper administration of justice. This amendment therefore removes that inaccurate paragraph to address the issue of when hearings are in public or in private.
- Applications under the Companies Acts and related legislation (PD49D) effective from 01 October 2019: relaxes the restriction on certain claims brought by the Takeover Panel (a statutory independent regulator) so that, instead of having to be started by a Part 7 claim form, they may be started by either a Part 7 claim form or a Part 8 claim, whichever is appropriate.
- Electronic Working Pilot Scheme (PD 51O) effective from 01 July 2019: extends an existing pilot scheme so that, where electronic working applies, it is mandatory, as from 1 July 2019, for a party who is legally represented to use electronic working (CE Filing) to start and/or continue any relevant claims or applications within the Central Office of the Queen’s Bench Division.
- Business and Property Courts (PD 57AA) will only come into force if and when the “no deal” amending instrument, the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (S.I. 2019/521) comes into force: It amends a cross-reference to a PD referring to EU Competition Law so that it refers to Competition Law more generally, mirroring an amendment made to that PD by a Practice Direction Update accompanying S.I. 2019/521.
Forms
The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
The form, ‘HIGH COURT & COURT OF APPEAL PRIVACY INJUNCTIONS STATISTICS FORM’ has been updated. The form is to be completed at hearings where an Order is sought in civil proceedings which seeks to restrain the publication of information and to which Practice Direction PD40F on Non-Disclosure Orders Information Collection Scheme applies. The form is provided online as an Annex within PD40F.
Pre Action Protocols
The following PAPs have been either created or modified as part of this update:
The amendment of the Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review, and the substitution, for the Pre-Action Protocol for Defamation Claims, of the Pre-Action Protocol for Media and Communications Claims, are approved by the Master of the Rolls as Head of Civil Justice.
The amendments to the Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review come into force on 17th September 2019;
The substituted Pre-Action Protocol for Media and Communications Claims comes into force on 1st October 2019.
Take Notice:
The related Statutory Instrument (Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) 2019) contains rule changes in respect of:
- Cost Protection in Environmental Claims to Extend Costs Protection to include more Statutory Reviews: the intention of this amendment is to bring statutory reviews which relate to national environmental law within the environmental cost protection regime, to facilitate full compliance with Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention. This is a technical change to amend rule 45.42(2)(a) which defines an “Aarhus Convention Claim”, so that the definition includes a Statutory Review which is within the scope of Article 9(3) of the Aarhus Convention, in addition to a Judicial Review within the scope of Article 9(3).
- The Media and Communications List: the MAC List (established in 2017) is a specialist list covering not only defamation but a wider range of new claims, and the rule changes are intended to give new focus to this specialism and to modernize the listing arrangements in the High Court. The scope of the MAC List can be described as cases involving one or more of the main media torts (defamation, misuse of private information and breach of duty under the Data Protection Act) and related or similar claims including malicious falsehood and harassment arising from publication or threatened publication by the print or broadcast media, online, on social media, or in speech.
This rule change simply replaces the current CPR Part 53 (Defamation Claims) with a new Part 53 to provide for the Media and Communications List. There are also various consequential changes to the related Practice Directions, as detailed below and within the associated PAP Amendment (also attached).
The SI can be seen at the following link and is anticipated to be effective from 01 October 2019. However, I respectfully highlight that this is subject to Parliamentary approval. When approved the on-line rules/web site will be updated accordingly: http://www.legislation.gov.uk
108th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to Practice Directions are contained in the 108th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules.
A summary is below and the full PD Update is accessible via this link:
The amendments cover:
108th Practice Direction Update (effective from 31 July 2019) provides for a new legal provision, enabling families and friends of missing people to look after their property and financial affairs.
Proceedings for guardianship will be regulated by the Civil Procedure Rules and Practice Direction 57C.
The Practice Direction, supplements the Rules of Court, by providing additional information and instructions, setting out in more detail the specific procedure to be followed by the court for the appointment of a guardian (“guardianship orders”), the variation of a guardianship order (“variation orders”) and the revocation of a guardianship order (“revocation orders”). One example would be providing more details for applicants on the material they should be including in their witness statement in support of their application for guardianship.
A Code of Practice will also be published to provide further advice on both the application process and also for those appointed guardian or working with them.
Please also note that the associated SI can be viewed via this link and is subject to Parliamentary approval:
This legislation is in addition to the usual twice-yearly CPR updates, specifically in order to regulate proceedings under the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017 and is anticipated to be effective from 31 July 2019
Forms:
None associated with this update.
Take Notice – Looking Ahead
- Please note that a series of further PD Updates are anticipated, from now on, as and when additional functionalities and progressive adaptions are made to the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) scheme. These bespoke PD Updates will be issued outside the routine twice yearly SI and PD Updates which cover changes across the CPR. Where the OCMC related modifications are significant, notice periods will be maximised wherever possible.
- The next routine CPRC Statutory Instrument (SI) is due to come into force on 01 October 2019. The SI can be viewed at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/342/contents/made
107th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to Practice Directions are contained in the 107th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules, but they will only come into force if and when the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/521) comes into force. A summary is below and the full PD Update is accessible via this link:
The amendments cover:
The 107th PD Update provides for related No Deal EU Exit implications and will only come into force if and when the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 SI 2019/521 come into force, which can be viewed at: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/521/contents/made
The 107th PD Update provides for amendments to remove provisions from Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) related Practice Directions which relate to powers, processes and orders under EU Instruments or Treaties which will no longer be applicable or available when those Instruments or Treaties are revoked by the EU Withdrawal Act or the Statutory Instruments (SI) made under it, or in some cases amend such provision where such Instruments are retained in an amended form.
These changes ensure relevant legislation that comes into force in a ‘no deal’ scenario will be given effect in the Practice Directions supplementing the CPR as well as in the CPR themselves. This in turn serves to ensure the practices and procedures which govern the operation of the civil courts remain effective and update to date.
The amendments also ensure there are appropriate transitional and saving provisions in the CPR for proceedings which commenced but not concluded under those Instruments, Conventions and provisions before exit day.
The PD Update amends a total of 15 Practice Directions. In summary they are:
- PD6A – Service within the United Kingdom
- PD6B – Service out of the Jurisdiction
- PD12 – Default Judgments
- PD31C – Disclosure and Inspection in relation to Competition Claims
- PD34A – Depositions and Court Attendance by Witnesses
- PD49A – Applications under the Companies Acts and related legislation
- PD51U – Disclosure Pilot for the Business and Property Courts
- PD52D – Statutory Appeals and Appeals subject to Special Provisions
- PD63A – Intellectual Property Claims
- PD68 – References to the European Court
- PD74A – Enforcement of Judgments in different jurisdictions
- PD74B – European Enforcement Orders
- PD78 – European Procedures
- The Competition Law PD – Claims relating to the application of Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty and Chapters I and II of Part I of Competition Act 1998
- The Competition Act Warrants PD – Application for a Warrant under the Competition Act 1998
Forms
None associated with this update, although work is continuing as regards any Brexit related implications on court forms.
Take Notice – looking ahead
- Please note that a series of further PD Updates are anticipated, from now on, as and when additional functionalities and progressive adaptions are made to the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) scheme. These bespoke PD Updates will be issued outside the routine twice yearly SI and PD Updates which cover changes across the CPR. Where the OCMC related modifications are significant, notice periods will be maximised wherever possible.
- As previously advised, the CPRC Statutory Instrument (SI) 2019/342 is due to come into force on 06 April 2019. Some elements of the 104th PD Update are related. The SI can be viewed at www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2019/342/contents/made
- The annual open meeting of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee is being planned for 10th May 2019 in London. Further communications and the process for expressing an interest in attending will be issued shortly.
106th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to Practice Directions are contained in the 106th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules. A summary is below and the full PD Update, which comes into force at 11am on 18th March 2019 is accessible via this ink:
The amendments cover:
106th Practice Direction Update (effective 11am 18 March 2019)
The 106th PD Update provides for the release of the following additional components within the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) scheme:
- to embed in the OCMC process a general notification feature to enable the claimant to notify the Court that a claim has been settled. This will prompt the court to mark a claim as stayed unless the defendant objects. This necessitates changes to Practice Direction 51R
- to clarify and make minor changes to provisions in both Practice Direction 51R and 51S as regards the time for submitting forms to the court
Forms:
None associated with this update.
Take Notice – Looking Ahead
- Please note that a series of further PD Updates are anticipated, from now on, as and when additional functionalities and progressive adaptions are made to the Online Civil Money Claims scheme. These bespoke PD Updates will be issued outside the routine twice yearly SI and PD Updates covering changes across the CPR. Where the OCMC related modifications are significant, notice periods will be maximised wherever possible.
- As previously advised, the Civil Procedure Rule Committee Statutory Instrument (SI) is due to come into force on 06 April 2019. Some elements of the 104th PD Update are related. The SI is currently subject to Parliamentary approval and will, ultimately be published via the Legislation website.
104th & 105th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to practice directions are contained in the 104th and 105th Updates to the Civil Procedure Rules. A summary is below and the full commencement dates are set out within the Update via this ink:
The amendments cover:
104th Practice Direction Update (effective in part with immediate effect with further updates therein effective variously
from 01 April 2019)The PD updates are:
- Open Justice: makes further changes by moving provisions concerning the presentation and bundling of documents from Practice Direction 39A (which will be removed in its entirety) to Practice Direction 32 – Evidence. Further, Practice Direction 39B – Court Sittings – will be renumbered “Practice Direction 2F”, to be within Part 2 of the CPR and the other Practice Directions which supplement that Part. Finally, new Practice Direction 3G, which provides guidance on requests by the court for the appointment of an advocate to the court, which replicates, with minor amendments, provisions previously included in a memorandum between the Lord Chief Justice and the Attorney General. Overall, these changes followed the related consultation in the summer of 2018, for which the Government response is yet to be published.
- Electronic Costs Bill: A new Practice Direction to enable a two-year voluntary pilot for costs for summary assessment and new forms N260A & N260B.
- Budget discussion report: make adjustments to Precedent R Budget Discussion Report (Practice Direction 3E on Costs Management).
- Court Closures: to reflect the recent closures of the Chichester District Registry and County Court hearing centre on 28th December 2018, and the Chippenham and Trowbridge County Court hearing centre on 26 October 2018.
- Shorter and Flexible Trials Pilot: to formally remove the pilot scheme, which ended on 30th September 2018 and which has been superseded by Practice Direction 57AB.
- Welsh Language: correcting a minor drafting issue to standardise the terminology, namely, replace ‘Allocations Questionnaire’ with the term ‘Directions Questionnaire’
Forms: The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:
- Forms N260A & N260B (included as annexes within the Update)
- Precedent R has been modified (included as an annex within the Update)
105th Practice Direction Update (effective immediately)
This extends the application of the existing Electronic Working Pilot Scheme (PD51O) to the out-of-London Business and Property Court centres. The existing scheme came in by way of the 100th PD Update which introduced a pilot scheme for electronic working in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court and that became effective from 1st January 2019, operating until 6th April 2020.
The changes in this, 105th PD Update, are therefore modest and straightforward by simply adding the out-of-London Business and Property Courts centres to the list of jurisdictions to which the pilot Practice Direction applies, and indicates the applicable start and end dates.
A related Practice Note from the Senior Master can be viewed on www.judiciary.uk via:
Forms:
None associated with this (105th) update.
Take Notice – Looking Ahead
- The Civil Procedure Rule Committee Statutory Instrument (SI) is due to come into force on 06 April 2019. Some elements of the 104th PD Update are related. The SI is currently subject to Parliamentary approval and will, ultimately be published via the Legislation website.
- A series of PD updates are anticipated, from March 2019 onwards regarding progression adaptions to the Online Civil Money Claims scheme.
102nd and 103rd Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to practice directions are contained in the 102nd and 103rd Updates to the Civil Procedure Rules. The changes come into force variously on 14 January 2019
The amendments cover:
The 102nd PD Update (effective 14 January 2019)
- Capped Cost List Pilot Scheme in the Business & Property Courts
It is a voluntary capped costs pilot operating in the Business and Property Courts in Leeds and Manchester (Chancery, Circuit Commercial and the Technology and Construction Court) and the London Circuit Commercial Court for cases valued up to £250,000. The pilot derives from Sir Rupert (formerly Lord Justice) Jackson’s Costs Review in which the terms of the pilot were published as part of Sir Rupert’s final report in the summer of 2017. Some amendments (notably the removal of provisions regarding appeals) have been made. The pre-modified PD and further information regarding the related Jackson Reforms are accessible via this link:
It is based on the capped costs regime in the Intellectual Property & Enterprise Court (IPEC).
The pilot will run for two years from 14 January 2019 to 13th January 2021.
Further information is in the attached information bulletin (below) from the Ministry of Justice.
103rd PD Update (effective 11am on 14 January 2019)
- Online Civil Money Claims Pilot (changes to PD51R)
The Online Civil Money Claims Project went live in March 2018. It offers a pilot digitial service for money claims for less than £10k. The service is available to litigants in person so that they can populate text boxes easily and swiftly, establish clear information about what to do next at each stage and check the progress of the online claim with maximum flexibility to match user feedback.
The amendments provide for Admissions, Part Admissions, Part defence/Part Admissions and Defence having already paid to be within the scheme.
Other, technical (naming and numbering) changes are included to allow for greater scope to add in future provisions with a reduced impact on the flow of numbering and therefore usability.
The name amendments include a change of name for the whole pilot, with the Pilot to be called the Online Civil Money Claims Pilot.
Forms:
There are no new forms being released with this PD update.
Take Notice – looking ahead:
The next CPRC Statutory Instrument (SI) containing rule changes, and an accompanying PD Update are anticipated in January/February 2019. Rule changes within the SI are anticipated to be effective from April 2019. Further communication will follow in due course.
101st Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to practice directions are contained in the 101st Update to the Civil Procedure Rules. The changes come into force variously on 08 November 2018 and 30 November 2018.
The amendments cover:
- Video Hearings Pilot Scheme (effective from 30 November 2018):
A pilot scheme is established, as PD 51V.
The pilot will test a procedure for applications to set aside County Court default judgments entered under Part 12 of the Civil Procedure Rules, and which are heard at the Manchester or Birmingham Civil Justice Centres, via an internet-enabled video link. Subject to their consent, the parties (or their legal representatives) will attend the hearing of the application, using the video-link, from suitable IT equipment and will see and hear, and will be seen and heard by, each other and the judge determining the application. Hearings will be held in public. Members of the public may access a hearing by attending the court in person and will see and hear the judge and the parties or their legal representatives on a screen set up in the court room. The pilot supports the ongoing reform programme to modernise the court system. The pilot will run from 30th November 2018 to 30th November 2019.
- Jurisdiction of the County Court that may be exercised by a legal adviser (commencement date to be advised08 November 2018):
A technical amendment within Practice Direction 2E (PD2E) to permit legal advisers at the County Court Business Centre (CCBC) and the County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC) to consider applications to make a counterclaim after a defence has been filed (pursuant to rule 20.4(2)(b)) but to limit that power to applications where the limitation period for bringing the counterclaim has not expired. Commencement date to be advised.
A technical amendment within Practice Direction 2E (PD2E) to permit legal advisers at the County Court Business Centre (CCBC) and the County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC) to consider applications to make a counterclaim after a defence has been filed (pursuant to rule 20.4(2)(b)) but to limit that power to applications where the limitation period for bringing the counterclaim has not expired.
Forms:
There are no new forms being released with this PD update.
Take Notice:
A further Practice Direction Update and/or Statutory Instrument containing rule changes, is/are anticipated in or around January 2019.
100th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to practice directions are contained in the 100th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules. The changes come into force variously on 1 October 2018 and 01 January 2019.
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee Statutory Instrument is also due to come into force on 1 October 2018 and can be accessed via the Legislation website.
The amendments cover:
- The Welsh Language: provision to reinforce the principles (established by the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 and the Welsh Language Act 1993), that the Welsh language has official status in Wales and that any legal proceedings in Wales may use the Welsh language.
- Establishment of the Business & Property Courts (BPC) under a new Part 57A: the establishment of the BPC as an umbrella of a number of specialist courts able to deal with business disputes of differing kinds. These include the Commercial Court; the Admiralty Court; the Technology and Construction Court; the Financial List; the Intellectual Property List, the Insolvency and Companies List and the Competition List. This ensures that the needs of different business sectors are served by specialists.
- District Judges power to commit for breach on an injunction: The rule changes confirm the power of a District Judge to deal with proceedings to commit a person for breach of an injunction, and removes provisions in the rules which relate to repealed legislation on certain injunctions and are considered now to be spent.
- Amending rule 83.2(3)(e) regarding permission requirements for the issue of writs or warrants following suspended orders ie Enforcement of suspended possession orders: this rule change follows public consultation on possession orders. It deals with an unintended consequence of the merging in Part 83 of what has previously been separate rules in relation to cases proceeding in the High Court and cases proceeding in the County Court. This consequence was highlighted by the case of Cardiff v. Lee [2016] EWCA Civ. 1034. Currently if a party defaults the terms of a suspended order the claimant has to seek permission of the court to enforce the substantive order (i.e. get possession of the property). The change alters the requirement to seek permission to issue a writ or warrant in respect of any (not only possession) suspended order, where the breach of the terms of suspension was by way of a failure to pay money, so that a claimant can proceed to enforcement without undue delay.
- BPC Disclosure Pilot (effective 01 January 2019): The pilot results from work commenced in 2016 to reform disclosure to reduce burden and cost of the disclosure process in business and commercial litigation. It follows feedback from extensive engagement with practitioners. The scheme is intended to improve the culture of commercial litigation as well as practice to speed up business litigation as a whole, and for disclosure to be more proportionate to the issues in the litigation. The PD provides for a two-year pilot to test the proposals, to run from January 2019. Further information, including the press announcement, is available at: https://www.judiciary.uk/publications/announcement-that-cprc-has-approved-disclosure-pilot/
- BPC Shorter and Flexible Trials: The shorter and flexible trial schemes have been piloted in the Rolls Building courts since 2015, and are considered to be sufficiently proven to establish them more permanently:
- The Shorter Trial Scheme involves a streamlined procedure leading to judgment within a year of issue of proceedings. For commercial parties it offers dispute resolution on a commercial timescale.
- The Flexible Trial Scheme involves the adoption of more flexible case management procedures where the parties so agree resulting in a more simplified and expedited procedure than the full trial procedure currently provided for under the CPR more generally.
Forms
There are no new forms being released with this PD update.
Take Notice
Although there are no new forms being released with this PD update, the CPRC Sub Committee is reviewing whether any form/s (N325 and/or N325A) need changing as a result of amendment to rule CPR 83.2(3)(e) as regards enforcement of suspended orders. If there is to be any change, this will be communicated.
Revocation 99th update- Practice Direction amendments
The 99th update – Practice Direction amendments is revoked with immediate effect.
98th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to practice directions are contained in the 98th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules. The changes come into force variously on 01 August 2018 and 01 October 2018.
The amendments cover:
- Closure of Lambeth County Court: This amendment follows an announcement on 11 February 2016 and the subsequent closure of Lambeth County Court on 30 March 2018. It therefore removes references to Lambeth County Court in various PDs.
- The jurisdiction of County Court Legal Advisers:Following a review of these powers by a Sub Committee of the CPRC, the PD modifies some of the delegated powers to HM Courts and Tribunals Service legal advisers (who are qualified as solicitors or barristers) at the County Court Business Centre (CCBC) and the County Court Money Claims Centre (CCMCC). The PD Update also contains amendments consequential on the formal delegation of powers to the legal advisers.
- Legal Advisors Pilot Scheme – Final Charging Orders: this creates a specific PD (51T) to allow for the pilot scheme to operate enabling legal advisors at CCMCC to make unopposed final charging orders (a charge against a property/land to secure a judgment debt) in certain circumstances (for example where the matter is not to be transferred for a hearing). The pilot will operate from 1 August 2018 to 1 April 2020
- Appeals route for Wigan County Court:following discussions between the judiciary at Merseyside and Greater Manchester and with the approval of the Presiding Judge of the Northern Circuit, the appeal route for Wigan County Court (which is geographically within the boundaries of Greater Manchester) will be treated as a court within the area of the Designated Civil Judge for Greater Manchester. This change requires the formal amendment of Table A to PD 52B (Appeals in the County Court and High Court) to replace the word “Liverpool” with the words “Manchester CJC”.
- Minor amendments: the update also includes the following minor amendments: amendment to PD14 (Admissions) para 7.2(f) to correct an error to substitute ‘offer’ with ‘admission’; amendment to PD27 (the small claims track) to reflect those who are authorised to act as a litigator/advocate under to the Legal Services Act 2007; PD 47 (Procedure for detailed assessment of costs and default provisions) to make provision for an electronic spreadsheet (Precedent S) as part of the Costs Bill.
Forms
There are no new forms being released with this PD update. However, the electronic spreadsheet (Precedent S) as part of the Costs Bill has been modified and together with guidance notes and an example, can be found on the Justice website.
Take Notice
Take Notice
The Insolvency Practice Direction has been amended, the revised version came into force on 25 April 2018.
Amendments are made to the following Pre-Action Protocols –
The Pre-Action Protocol for Debt claims (came into force on 30 April 2018): The protocol is amendment to direct users the Money Advice Service where copies of the most up to date versions of the Standard Financial Statement can be obtained.
The Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence (came into force on 30 April 2018): The amendment to the protocol is made following a pilot to establish a scheme of adjudication for professional negligence claims that were not construction contracts. The change indicates what information should be included in a letter of claim in respect of adjudication.
The Pre-Action Protocol for Resolution of Package Travel Claims (comes into force on 7 May 2018): The amendment clarifies that the fixed recoverable costs scheme does not cover claims that if issued would be allocated to the small claims track in accordance with CPR 27.14(2).
97th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to practice directions are contained in the 97th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules. The changes come into force on 7th May 2018.
Part 2 Application and interpretation of the Rules and new Practice Direction 2E Jurisdiction of the County Court that may be exercised by a legal adviser
This rule amendment and new Practice Direction formalises the jurisdiction that may be exercised by a legal adviser under Practice Direction 51Q (The County Court Legal Adviser Pilot Scheme). The powers enable legal advisers in the County Court Business Centre and the County Court Money Claims Centre to deal with some items of “box work”, usually allocated to a District Judge. PD 51Q is omitted.
Part 45 Fixed costs and Part 36 Offers to settle and payments into court
Parts 45 is amended to provide that certain of the fixed recoverable costs that are applicable to public liability claims started under the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims (“the EL/PL Protocol”) apply to claims to which the Pre-Action Protocol for Resolution of Package Travel Claims applies.
In consequence of the amendments to Part 45, Part 36 is amended to apply certain of the provisions in respect of offers to settle that are applicable to public liability claims started under the EL/PL Protocol to claims to which the Pre-Action Protocol for Resolution of Package Travel Claims applies.
Forms
PF10 Anonymity and Prohibition of Publication Order is revised to make exceptions within the Order where communication between the Court Funds Office and an anonymised party or litigation friend; or a financial institution is necessary. A copy of the new form will be published on Formfinder shortly and it can be used immediately
Take Notice:
A new protocol “Pre-action protocol for resolution of package travel claims” is introduced and comes into effect on 7 May 2018.
96th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to practice directions are contained in the 96th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules. The changes come into force on various dates. There are no rule amendments or form changes.
PD51O – The Electronic Working Pilot Scheme
The pilot scheme allowing for the electronic filing of claims and subsequent documents in the Business and Property Courts (B&PC) is extended to 6 April 2020. The amendment comes into force on 4 April 2018.
PD51P – Pilot for Insolvency Express trials
The pilot which provides litigants in Bankruptcy and Companies Court with a quick, more streamlined procedure, and an early date for trial of disposal of simple applications is extended for two years. The amendment comes into force on 30 March 2018.
PD51R – Online Court Pilot
The pilot for a new digital procedure for County Court money only claims valued under £10K, is amended to allow increased functionality and to move the pilot from the private to public beta stage. The amendment comes into force on 26 March 2018, subject to transitional provisions.
95th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to the rules are contained in the 95th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules. The changes come into force on 6 April 2018. There are no amendments to practice directions.
Part 45 Fixed costs
The amendments clarify the operation of the rules in relation to costs protection in Aarhus Convention claims namely clarifying (i) the financial information that a claimant has to provide in order to have the benefit of the costs cap (mirroring the procedure for applications for costs capping orders in judicial review claims which are not Aarhus Convention claims); (ii) that the court may vary a costs cap only on an application made by the claimant or the defendant; and (iii) that an application to vary the costs cap must be made at the outset, either in the claim form (if made by a claimant) or in the acknowledgment of service (if made by a defendant), and must be determined by the court at the earliest opportunity; and that an application may only be made at a later stage in the process if there has been a significant change in circumstances.
Forms
The following forms are amended:
N461Judicial Review Claim Form and N461(PC) Judicial Review Claim Form Planning Court (revised forms coming into force 6 April 2018)
N462 Judicial Review Acknowledgment of Service and N462(PC) Judicial Review Acknowledgment of Service (Planning Court) (revised forms coming into force 6 April 2018)
N463 Judicial Review Applicant for urgent consideration (revised form may be used after 26 March 2018)
94th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
Amendments to practice directions are contained in the 94th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules. The changes came into force on 7 February 2018 except for amendments to Practice Direction 75 – Traffic Enforcement which came into force on 1 April 2018.
Practice Direction 8A – Alternative Procedure for Claim
The amendments make provision for transfer from a Magistrates’ Court to High Court of certain processes relating to forfeiture of “listed assets” (representing the proceeds of crime for use in crime) and terrorist assets introduced by the Criminal Finances Act 2017. The amendments dis-apply certain rules in CPR Part 8 (and Part 7) and modify the operation of Practice Direction 8A on transferred proceedings so the proceedings can “plug in” as promptly as possible to the provisions of that PD so as to continue as Part 8 proceedings.
Practice Direction 59 Circuit Commercial Court and Practice Direction 60 – Technology and Construction Court
These amendments to two PDs applicable in the Business and Property Courts are made to align them with the Business and Property Courts Practice Direction and the related Advisory Note published by The Chancellor in October 2017 (https://www.judiciary.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/bpc-advisory-note-13-oct2017.pdf) . Court users must head up claims in the manner described in the practice direction to ensure that claims are considered in the appropriate court or specialist list.
Practice Direction 66 – Crown proceedings
This amendment substitutes a revised note issued by the Attorney General in respect of disputes as to venues in civil proceedings by or against the Crown. The amendments reflect changes in the organisation of the Government Legal Service and the formation of the Government Legal Department and the locations of HMRC litigators.
Practice Direction 75 – Traffic enforcement
These amendments provide for the enforcement through the Traffic Enforcement Centre at Northampton of Penalty Charge Notices issued against the registered keeper of a vehicle form which a littering offence is committed outside London. The Littering from Vehicles Outside London (Keepers: Civil Penalties) Regulations 2018 SI 2018 No. 171, underpin the amendments. These powers already exist for notices issued in the London area.
Practice Direction – Business and Property Courts
These amendments address minor drafting points, including ambiguities and minor drafting errors, in the current PD, following the introduction of the Business and Property Courts in October 2017. In particular, amendment is made to include Newcastle as a venue for the Business and Property Courts.
Civil Recovery Practice Direction
These amendments are made to the PD – Civil Recovery Proceedings (which was originally made in 2005 to provide for the procedure for civil recovery proceedings and investigations, and freezing and confiscation of property in response to requests from other countries, under Parts 5 and 8 of the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 (POCA) and the POCA (External Requests and Orders) Order 2005). The amendments insert provision to ensure that there is procedure for additional forms of civil recovery proceedings resulting from amendments to POCA by the Policing and Crime Act 2009, the Crime and Courts Act 2014 and the Criminal Finances Act 2017, and make consequential amendments needed as a result of the POCA (External Investigations) Order 2013 and the POCA (External Requests and Orders) (Amendment) Order 2013.
92nd and 93rd Updates to the Civil Procedure Rules
The amendments to practice directions supporting the 92nd Update to the Civil Procedure Rules and the 93rd Update containing amendments to practice directions are now in force. The amendments will be incorporated into the consolidated web version of the rules in due course. The Practice Direction Making Documents are available below:
Forms:
Please note that N5B has been replaced with N5B England and N5B Wales The new forms are available to download from the HMCTS website.
Take notice:
Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review
The postal address to which letters before claim where the claim concerns a decision in an Immigration, Asylum or Nationality case (Annex A, Section 2) should be sent to is:
Litigation Allocation Unit
6, New Square
Bedfont Lakes
Feltham, Middlesex
TW14 8HAThis is effective from 27 November 2017
Take notice:
A new pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims is introduced and comes into effect on 1 October 2017.
The new protocol can be seen in the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims.
92nd Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
The amendments contained in the statutory instrument come into force on 1 October 2017. The Practice Direction Making Document supporting the rule changes will be published shortly.
Part 3 Case Management
Rule 3.1 is amended to make explicit that the court may, in its general case management powers, direct that a hearing may proceed before a Divisional Court of the High Court (which is made up of at least two judges). Section 66 (1) of the Senior Courts Act 1981 provides for hearings in the High Court to be before a Divisional Court where this is required by legislation or by rules of court. The amendment makes it explicit to judges and practitioners what has been regarded as implicit in the general powers of the court under the rule. Namely that the court has power to require proceedings to be heard by a Divisional Court in appropriate circumstances where this will further the overriding objective of enable the court to deal with cases justly and at proportionate cost.
Part 47 Detailed assessment of Costs
Rule 47.6 is amended to provide for the filing of electronic and/or paper versions of the bill of costs, if appropriate, and to direct users to the relevant practice direction supplementing Part 47 (Practice Direction 47). The majority of amendments relating to the New Bill of Costs are made to Practice Direction 47and will be published as part of the Practice Direction Making Document supporting the rule changes.
Part 52 Appeals
Rule 52.4 is amended to make clear that a judge hearing an application for permission to appeal may, in what is known as a “rolled-up” hearing, hear the application for permission to appeal and the appeal at the same time, if possible and appropriate.
Part 58 Mercantile Courts
Further to the introduction of Business and Property Courts (BPC) encompassing the specialist courts and lists of the High Court including the Commercial Court, the Admiralty Court, Mercantile Court, the Technology and Construction Court and the courts of the Chancery Division (including those dealing with financial services, intellectual property, competition, and insolvency) amendments are made to rename the Mercantile Court as the Circuit Commercial Court, and the judges of those courts as Circuit Commercial Court judges. Amendments are accordingly made to Part 59 (Mercantile Courts) to implement the name change and to amend references to the Mercantile Court and judges where they appear throughout the CPR, including Parts 30, 52, 61, and 62. The BPC Practice Direction will be publishing as part of the Practice Direction Making Document supporting the rule changes.
Part 78 European Procedures
Amendments are made to reflect the changes made by EU Regulation 2015/2421 to the EU Regulations establishing the European Small Claims Procedure (ESCP) Regulation (Regulation 861/2007) and European Order for Payment Procedure (EOP) (Regulation 1896/2006). The revised Regulation increases the upper limit for ESCP claim from €2,000 to €5,000 and provides that if an application for a EOP is opposed the application will be transferred into the ESCP. The rule amendments reflect these changes.
Part 83 Writs and Warrants – General Provisions
Part 83 is amended to provides that where a disqualified person(s) fails to comply with a notice of eviction and end of tenancy given by the landlord under the Immigration Action 2014 (as amended); any request for a writ of possession will be subject to judicial scrutiny.
91st Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
The 91st Update amendment, introduction of Practice Direction 51S comes into force on 12 September 2017.
PD51S The County Court Online Pilot
PD51S sets out the provisions for a pilot allowing for the electronic submission of claims for specified and unspecified money only claims made in the County Court where the claimant is legally represented. On completion of the claim form online, CMCC will issue and digitally seal the claim which will be returned electronically to the legal representative for downloading and service on the defendant.
90th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
The 90th Update amendments, come into force on 9 August 2017, with the exception of the pilot under PD51R which comes into force on 7 August 2017 and amendments to PD8A, which come into force on the date on which the Drug Dealing Telecommunication Restriction Orders Regulations 2017 come into force.
PD2C Starting Proceedings in the County Court
Amendments to practice direction PD2C reflect the programme of court closures and references to individual County Court Hearing Centres that have now closed are removed. These include: Kettering, Bolton, Bury, Kendal, Oldham, Llangefni and Woolwich. In addition, an amendment to PD84 Enforcement by Taking Control of Goods substitutes Manchester for Oldham as the hearing centre that will deal with applications for certification of enforcement agents. Consequential amendments are made to practice directions 26, 45, 47 and 52B.
PD8A Alternative Procedure for Claims
Amendments to PD8A provide for the procedure to be followed under the Drug Dealing Telecommunications Restriction Regulations 2017. Section 80A of the Serious Crime Act 2015 as amended by the Digital Economy Act 2017, provides the Secretary of State (Home Office) with the power to make Regulations which enable courts in the UK to issue Drug Dealing Telecommunication Restriction Orders (DDTROs). These amendments come into force on the date on which the Drug Dealing Telecommunication Restrictions Orders Regulations 2017 come into force.
PD51R Online Court Pilot
A pilot for a new digital procedure for County Court money only claims valued under £10K, issued by unrepresented parties is introduced. The pilot sets out rules for the online issue of a claim and response to claim. The pilot commences on 7 August 2017.
PD75 Traffic Enforcement
Amendments are made to the PD75 in respect of civil enforcement of parking, bus lane and moving traffic contraventions in Wales.
89th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
The 89th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules comes into force on 9 August 2017.
PD2E Jurisdiction of the County Court that may be exercised by a Legal Adviser and PD51Q The County Court Legal Advisers Pilot Scheme
The update removes PD2E and reinstates the County Court Legal Advisers Pilot Scheme as PD51Q until further notice. The amendments are made to correct an inadvertent failure to include in Part 2 of the CPR a specific rule of court referring to PD2E, so making provision for court staff to exercise the jurisdiction of the court. Consequential amendments are made to Practice directions 17, 26 and 74A.
88th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
The 88th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules makes a number of amendments to rules and practice directions. The amendments come into force on several different dates and your attention is drawn to the transitional provisions set out in Rule 13 of the Statutory Instrument.
PD2C Starting proceedings in the County Court
The amendments to PD2C are made consequential on the closure of Bow, Brecon, Halifax, Hartlepool, King’s Lynn, Lowestoft, Reigate, Rhyl, Rotherham, Scunthorpe, St Albans, Tunbridge Wells, and Warrington hearing centres, and the establishment of a hearing centre in Prestatyn. The amendments come into force on 31 March 2017. Consequential amendments are made to PD26, PD45, PD47 and PD52B.
New PD2E Jurisdiction of the County Court that may be exercised by a legal adviser
This new Practice Direction formalises the jurisdiction that may be exercised by a legal adviser under Practice Direction 51K (The County Court Legal Adviser Pilot Scheme), as well as extending that jurisdiction to include five new work types. The powers enable legal advisers in the County Court Business Centre and the County Court Money Claims Centre to deal with some items of “box work”, usually allocated to a District Judge (see the Schedule to the PD). The PD comes into effect on 1 April 2017. Consequential amendments are made to PD23A, PD26, PD47 and PD74A. PD51K is omitted.
Part 3 The Courts Case Management Powers
Amendments are made following the Court of Appeal Judgment SARPD Oil International Limited v Addax Energy SA and another SARPD Oil International Limited v Addax Energy SA and another [2016] EWCA Civ 120 (SARPD) in respect of the cost budgeting rules. The amendments come into force on 6 April 2017.
Part 3 The Court’s Case Management Powers and PD3B Sanctions for non-payment of fees
The rules are amended to reflect a policy change in the collection and refund of hearing fees. Hearing fees will no longer be automatically refunded where parties settle the claim before trial. The date at which the hearing fee becomes payable is moved closer to the trial date. The amendments come into force on 6 March 2017. The Civil Proceedings Fees (Amendment) Order 2016 http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2016/1191/article/2/made provides details of the fees scheme. Consequential amendments are made to Part 25 and Part 44 and PD4 and PD47.
Part 45 Fixed costs
The amendment to Part 45 is made as part of a package of amendments with a view to ensuring that costs in Aarhus Convention claims are not “prohibitively expensive”. The amendments come into force on 28 February 2017. Consequential amendments are made to Part 25, PD25A and PD45.
Part 45 Fixed costs
Amendments are made to reflect the Court of Appeal judgment in Qader & Ors v Esure Services Ltd and Khan and Anr v McGee http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2016/1109.html. The amendments come into force on 6 April 2017.
PD51K The County Court Legal Advisers Scheme
The Practice Direction is omitted with effect from 1 April 2017, see new PD2E Jurisdiction of the County Court that may be exercised by a legal adviser.
PD51O Electronic working scheme
The amendments are made to clarify when documents may be submitted by email as well as through the Electronic working system. The amendments come into force on 1 April 2017.
PD54A Judicial Review
The amendment to PD54A is made with a view to reducing the burden of producing bundles on parties to judicial review proceedings. The amendments come into force on 28 February 2017.
Part 61 and PD 61 Admiralty Claims
Amendments are made to reflect the increasing use of technology in ships, where a recording device akin to the “black box” recording equipment used in aeroplanes is employed. The changes focus on providing a simpler and quicker trial process by promoting early exchange of electronic data made available by new technology. The amendments come into force on 28 February 2017.
Part 63 Intellectual Property Claims
Amendments provide an appeal route in respect of registered design cases following abolition of the RTA Appeal Tribunal. The amendments come into force on 6 April 2017.
Part 68 and PD68 References to European Court
Amendments are made to make clear the precise nature of the wording of references and format in which they must be submitted. The Practice Direction is substituted. The amendments come into force on 6 April 2017.
Forms
Amendments to forms related to this update are as follows:
Precedent R
N155
N157
N159
N172
N173N461
N461 Notes
N461(PC)
N208(PC)
N210(PC)87th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
The 87th Update introduces new Practice Direction 31C to assist with implementation of Directive 2014/104/EU on certain rules governing actions for damages under national law for infringements of competition law provisions of the Member States and of the European Union, in particular articles 5 and 6 of that Directive.
The Directive 2014/104/ was published in the EU journal in December 2014. Member States are required to implement the Directive by 27 December 2016.
There are no form changes associated with this update.
86th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules
The 86th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules makes a number of amendments, the principal changes being to Part 52 Appeals and the supporting practice directions. The majority of changes come into force on 3rd October 2016. Please note the transitional provisions in Article 16 of the statutory instrument and page 2 of the practice direction making document.
Part 2 – Application and interpretation of the rules
CPR 2.4 lists the judges who are “the court” and so can perform any functions expressed as functions of “the court”. Registrars in Bankruptcy are not included in that list, although the Registrars hear and determine company matters which fall within the remit of the CPR. An amendment is made by adding Registrars in Bankruptcy to the list of judges who comprise “the court”.
PD2C – Starting proceedings in the County Court
Closure of County Court Hearing Centres
The practice direction is amended to reflect a number of hearing centres that will have closed on 31 July 2016, and the one hearing centre that will open on the same date. Amendments are made throughout the practice directions where the relevant hearing centres are named.
Claims for restoration of companies
The practice direction currently provides that the County Court at Central London is able to issue claims for restoration of companies whose registered address is within their local jurisdiction, the practice direction is amended so that it may also issue claims for restoration for a company whose registered address is anywhere in England and Wales.
PD3E – Costs management
A revised Precedent H, the form for filing costs budgets, is substituted.
Practice Direction 8A – Alternative procedure for claims
Amendments are made to implement the Telecommunications Restriction Orders (Custodial Institutions) (England and Wales) Regulations 2016 under Section 80 of the Serious Crime Act 2016 to provide that the court may on application order non-disclosure of the information submitted with a TRO application; and this information will not be provided to any of the parties until the application for a non-disclosure order has been considered by the court.
Part 26 – Case management – preliminary stage
The pilot scheme introduced to provide that cases provisionally allocated to the multi-track are sent to the County Court at Central London (CCCL) rather than one of the London hearing centres has ended. The pilot scheme is put on a formal footing by amendment to Part 26. PD51I is omitted.
Practice direction 51I – the County Court at Central London Multi-Track Pilot Scheme
PD51I is omitted (see Part 26 above).
Practice Direction 51L – New Bill of Costs Pilot Scheme
The New Bill of Costs Pilot Scheme is extended by a year and is modified to alleviate concerns raised about the existing form’s reliance on J Codes. Parties will be able to file their bill in electronic format which will assist the court in assessing the bill as any adjustment made by the court, to say the rate or hours claimed, will automatically be carried through to all relevant parts of the bill.
Practice direction 51N – Shorter and Flexible Trials Pilot Schemes
The scheme is extended by a further year and is modified to clarify the procedure. Adjustments are made to the scheme as follows: to clarify that the scheme applies to cases commenced in or transferred into the schemes while the practice direction is in force; to permit Chancery Masters to transfer cases in the Chancery Division into the scheme and to provide that the Statements of Case do not need to be re-pleaded after transfer to bring them within the scheme’s rules; and to allow cases transferred into the scheme to be tried by a Chancery Master if appropriate, or with the consent of the parties.
Practice direction 51O – The Electronic Working Pilot Scheme
The current pilot scheme is extended by a year and amendments are made to the scheme in the light of feedback received during the first year of its operation. Consequential amendments are made to PD5B.
Part 52 – Appeals
Practice Direction 52A – Appeals
Practice Direction 52B – Appeals in the County Court and High Court
Practice Direction 52C – Appeals to the Court of Appeal
Practice Direction 52D – Statutory Appeals and appeals subject to special provision
Part 40 – Judgments, Orders, Sale of land etc.
Part 63 – Intellectual Property Claims
The principal amendments to Part 52 and supporting practice directions concern: the procedure for appeals to the Court of Appeal; the exercise, by court officers, of functions of the Court of Appeal; and consequential changes reflecting the changes in routes of appeal brought about by The Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) Order 2016.
Applications for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal
The main change concerns the way in which an application for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal is determined. Instead of the application being initially determined on the papers without a hearing, with an automatic right to an oral hearing in the event of refusal, the application will be determined on the papers unless the court considers that it should be determined at an oral hearing. The court is given a discretion to “call in” the application for oral hearing in this way, and is placed under a duty to do so if it is of the opinion that it cannot fairly determine the application on the papers. The court may also direct that the party seeking permission provide further information in support of the application, and that the respondent to the appeal attend the hearing. Unless the court directs otherwise in an exceptional case, the oral hearing, where one is directed, will be listed within 14 days of the direction for an oral hearing, before the judge who “called in” the application.
Court officers
The existing position is that with the consent of the Master of the Rolls qualified officers (a solicitor or barrister) may exercise jurisdiction of the Court of Appeal in relation to certain ancillary matters such as applications for an extension of time. An application may be determined on paper by the officer of the court and parties may apply for an oral hearing. There is no change in relation to the court officers themselves, and only a minor change (clarifying that a court officer may not decide an application for a stay of proceedings in the lower court) in relation to the matters which they may deal with. The changes made are in relation to the procedure for making and reviewing decisions, and align the approach to that for applications for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal. Thus a review of a decision of a court officer by a single judge (and similarly a reconsideration by a judge of a decision made by a single judge) will be undertaken on the papers unless the judge determines there should be an oral hearing (which the judge must do if of the opinion that the matter cannot be fairly determined without an oral hearing).
Amendments consequential to changes to the routes of appeal
The Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) Order 2016 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2016/9780111146620/contents) simplifies the appeals process to ensure that, as far as possible, an appeal should lie to the next level of judge. Part 40 – Judgments, Orders, Sale of Land etc. is amended to provide that where the High Court is the appeal court, any judgment or order of the lower court must indicate the appropriate division of the High Court to which any appeal must be made. Part 63 – Intellectual Property Claims is also amended to reflect provision in the Order that in cases allocated to the small claims track of the Intellectual Property Enterprise Court, an appeal will lie from a decision of a District Judge to an enterprise judge.
Amendments are made to PD52A consequential on the changes to routes of appeal made by the Access to Justice Act 1999 (Destination of Appeals) Order 2016.
More significant amendments are made to PD52C (Appeals to the Court of Appeal) to streamline the timetable for stages in appeals to the Court of Appeal, change the requirements relating to skeleton arguments, and control the size of appeal bundles.
Consequential amendments are made to PD3C, Parts 45, 47, 76, 80 and 88.
Part 54 – Judicial Review and Statutory Review
The Public Contracts Regulation 2015 which came into force in February 2015 (http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/schedule/6/made) amended CPR 54.5(6). The amendment to the rule made by virtue of the Regulation incorrectly identifies the relevant provision as “regulation 92” instead of “regulation 92(2)” and this inaccuracy is amended.
85th Update coming into force August 2016
The 85th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules introduces changes in relation to cost capping orders in judicial review cases.
The amendments come into force on 8 August 2016 and do not apply to an application for judicial review where the claim form was filed before 8 August 2016.
Part 3 – The Court’s Case Management Powers
Part 46 and PD46 – Costs – Special Cases
Amendments to rules and practice direction are made to create costs capping orders in non-environmental judicial reviews, replacing protective costs orders.
The amendments implement sections 88-90 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015. Where the court makes a costs capping order limiting or removing the applicant’s liability to pay costs, the order will include a ‘cross-cap’ limiting or extinguishing the other party’s liability to pay the applicant’s costs should they lose.
The rules provide that an applicant for a cost capping order should set out why an order should be made, having regard to the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015.
A summary should be provided of their resources, including major assets and likely future contributions from third parties; a summary of the costs the parties are likely to incur through the proceedings; and, if they are a body corporate, whether they can demonstrate they can meet likely liabilities arising from the claim.
The court will consider the financial resources of the parties when determining whether to make a costs capping order and, if one is appropriate, what the terms of that order should be.
There are no form changes associated with this update.
84th Update
The 84th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules introduces changes only to practice directions in a number of areas. The amendments have a number of different commencement dates.
Practice Direction 2a – Court Offices, coming into force 3 October 2016
Paragraph 2.2 is omitted, further to the establishment of a QB Masters Interim Applications List for a number of hours each day during court sitting hours for short urgent applications.
Practice Direction 8A – Alternative Procedure for Claims, coming into force 17 June 2016
The amendments relate to implementation of the European Union Referendum Act 2015 and the European Union Referendum Conduct Regulations 2016.
The amendments provide for the detailed assessment of a returning officer’s account for charges in respect of the European Referendum which mirror existing clauses in respect of parliamentary elections; orders for production of documents under, and applications in respect of, the retention and inspection of documents will be exercised by the Divisional Court, save that where jurisdiction is exercisable by a single judge, it will be exercised by a single judge.
Practice Direction 32 – Evidence, coming into force on 17 June 2016
The address in respect of enquiries to the Foreign and Commonwealth office is amended.
Practice Direction 51K – The County Court Legal Advisers Pilot Scheme, coming into force on 29 September 2016
The pilot scheme, which operates in the business centres and enables legal advisers to undertake specified tasks which would usually be undertaken by a deputy District Judge, is extended for a further period.
The range of tasks the legal advisers may undertake is extended to: granting extensions of time in which to serve particulars of claim in limited circumstances; determining applications to add or substitute a party to the proceedings pursuant to rule 19.4 in limited circumstances; and to consider applications to substitute a litigation friend.
Practice Direction 51L – New Bill of Costs Pilot Scheme, coming into force 29 September
The pilot testing the New Bill of Costs is extended for a further period of 12 months. Modifications are made to the Bill of Costs following the initial pilot.
There are no form changes associated with this update.
Take notice:
Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents from 31 July 2013
An amendment to paragraph 1.1(A1)(a) and (b) extends, by two months to 1 June 2016, the date by which a medical expert, preparing an initial report in a soft tissue injury claim, must be accredited by MedCo Registration Solutions (“MedCo”).
83rd Update coming into force April 2016
The 83rd Update to the Civil Procedure Rules introduces changes in a number of areas. The majority of the amendments come into force on 1 or 6 April 2016.
Part 3 – The Court’s Case Management Powers
Practice Direction – 3E Costs Management
The costs management rules are amended to provide that only the first page of Precedent H is to be exchanged and filed in cases where the value of the claims is under £50,000 or the costs are less than £25,000. Claims made on behalf of a child are also excluded from the regime, and in cases where the Claimant has a limited or severely impaired life expectation the court will ordinarily disapply cost management. Amendments are also made to the point at which a costs budget must be filed. For lower value claims the budget must be filed with the Directions Questionnaire, for other claims it must be filed 21 days before the case management conference. Agreed budget discussion reports must be filed seven days before the first hearing. Amendments are also made to provide that costs claimed in each phase of the proceedings, are made available to the court when assessing costs at the end of a case. Consequential amendments are made to Practice Direction 3E.
Practice Direction 4 – Forms
The practice direction is revised with forms grouped together by subject-matter and supporting alphabetical index. The subject-matter groups will be reflected on the HMCTS FormFinder. A large number of forms have been revised and are listed at the end of this document.
They are also available for preview in the following zip files.
Part 47 and Practice Direction 47 – Procedure for Assessment of Costs and Default Provisions
The rules are amended to provide that details of costs budgets are provided when detailed assessment of costs is required (Model Precedent Q).
PD51L – New Bill of Costs
The pilot scheme for a new bill of costs is extended whilst the impact of its mandatory introduction is assessed.
Practice Direction 51P – Pilot for Insolvency Trials
Pilot for Insolvency Express Trials. A pilot to provide litigants in the Bankruptcy and Companies Court of the High Court with a quick, more streamlined procedure, and an early date for trial of disposal of simple applications. The pilot will run for two years from 1 April 2016.
Practice Direction 52C – Appeals to the Court of Appeal
Amendments facilitate the provision of skeleton arguments (anonymised in family proceedings) to accredited law reporters and the media in cases being heard in the Court of Appeal at the time of the appeal.
Practice Direction 52D – Statutory Appeals and Appeals subject to special provision
Amendments implement the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016 and provide that any accounts submitted by a petition officer may be the subject of detailed assessment in the County Court. Similar separate provisions are made in respect of accounts of the petition officers of Welsh MPs. Consequential amendments are made to PD8A.
Part 73 – Charging Orders
Rules are amended to provide for the centralised handling of the majority of applications for charging in orders in the County Court. Applications will be processed at the County Court Money Claims Centre and will be paper based for the most part. A court officer at CCMCC may make the interim order providing certain conditions are met in respect of a charge over land. Parties may also apply for a review of an interim charging order made by a court officer. Applications where the court officer may not make an interim order will be referred to a judge for a decision on the making of an interim order and/or transfer of the matter to a local hearing centre. Once an interim order is made at the CCMCC and served, the parties will have a period of 28 days between service on them of the interim order and referral to a judge to object to the making of the final charging order. If an objection is received the matter will be sent to a local County Court hearing centre. The service provisions are also amended. Consequential amendments are also made to PD7C, PD7E, PD70 and PD73.
Practice Direction 74A – Enforcement of Judgments in Different Jurisdictions
Amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules contained in the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and Civil Jurisdiction and Judge (Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005) Regulations 2015, were made in October 2015. Amendments are now made to the practice direction to support those rule changes. Consequential amendments are made to PD12.
Part 89 – Attachment of Earnings
CCR Order 27 is omitted. A new part sets out the procedure for applications to attach earnings. The amendments also provide for the handling of applications for Attachment of Earnings Orders at the County Court Money Claims Centre. Responses to the application will be dealt with at the CCMCC, but where the judgment debtor does not respond the process will be sent to a local County Court hearing centre. Consequential amendments are made to PD7C, PD7E, and PD70.
Forms:
The following forms are amended:
Form 110 (replaces No.110) Certificate for the enforcement in a foreign country under [section 10 of the Administration of Justice Act 1920] [section 10 the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement Act 1933]
[section 12 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982] (CPR 74.12 and PD74A paragraph 7)Form 111 (replaces No. 111) Certificate for the enforcement in Scotland or Northern Ireland of a money judgment of the High Court or the County Court (section 18 of and Schedule 6 to the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982) (CPR 74.17 and PD 74A paragraph 8.2)
Form 112 (replaces No.112) Certificate annexed to sealed copy of judgment of the High Court or of the County Court for enforcement of non-money provisions in Scotland or Northern Ireland (section 18 of and Schedule 7 to the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982) (CPR 74.18 and Practice Direction 74A paragraph 8.3)
No.32 Order for examination within jurisdiction of witness before trial or hearing (rule 34.8)
No.33 Application for an order for the issue of a letter of request to judicial authorities out of the jurisdiction (rule 34.13 and PD34A paragraph 5)
No.34 Order for the issue of a letter of request to judicial authorities out of the jurisdiction (rule 34.13)
No.35 Draft Letter of request for examination of witness out of jurisdiction
(to be filed by a party under rule 34.13(6))No.37 Order for appointment of special examiner to take evidence of witness out of jurisdiction (rule 34.13(4) and PD34A paragraph 5.8)
No.41 Default judgment upon request in claim relating to detention of goods (rule 12.4(1)(c))
No.44 Part 24 Judgment for Claimant
No.44A Part 24 Judgment for Defendant
No. 44B Order under refusing judgment under Part 24 and giving directions as to the future conduct of the case
No.44C Order under Part 24 imposing condition of payment into court (rule 3.1(3) and PD24 paragraphs 5.1 and 5.2) (replaces PF13)
No.44D Order under Part 24 for detailed assessment of solicitor’s bill of costs and for judgment on the amount found due thereunder (replaces PF15)
No.45 Judgment after trial before Judge without Jury (CPR Practice Direction 40B paragraph 14.1(1))
No.46 Judgment after trial before Judge with Jury (CPR Practice Direction 40B paragraph 14.1(2))
No.47 Judgment after trial before a Master or District Judge (PD40B paragraph 14)
No.48 Order after separate trial of issue under rule 3.1(2)(i)
No.49 Judgment against personal representative (PD40B paragraph 14.3)
No.52 Notice of Claim to non-parties (CPR 19.8A(4)(a)(i))
No.52A Notice of Judgment or Order to non-parties (CPR 19.8A(4)(a)(i))
No.67 Writ of sequestration (rule 81.20(1) and rule 81.27)
N40A (County Court) Warrant of arrest for disobedience to order to attend court for questioning
N40A (High Court) Warrant of arrest for disobedience to order to attend court for questioning
N86 Interim Charging Order
N87 Final Charging Order
N149C Notice of proposed allocation to the Multi-Track
N216 Notice by court to claimant of outcome of postal service of claim form by the court (CPR 6.18)
N217 Order for service of claim form by an alternative method or at an alternative place (CPR 6.15)
N218 Notice of service of the claim form on partnership (where partners are being sued in the name of their firm) (CPR 6.5(3)(c))
N224 Request for service of the claim form out of the jurisdiction under CPR 6.43
N224A Request for service of the claim form on a State under CPR 6.44
N293A Combined Certificate of Judgment and request for writ of control/possession (against trespassers only)
N379 Application for a charging order on land
N380 Application for a charging order on securities
PF1 Application for time (rule 3.1(2)(a)) (other than an application to extend time for service of a claim form)
PF2 Order for time (rule 3.1(2)(a))
PF3 Application for an extension of time for serving a claim form (rule 7.6)
PF4 Order for extension of time for serving a claim form (rule 7.6)
PF6A Application for permission to serve claim form out of jurisdiction
(rules 6.36 and 6.37)PF6B Order for permission to serve claim form out of jurisdiction (rule 6.37(5))
PF7A Request for service of document abroad through foreign government, foreign judicial authority or British consular authority (rule 6.43)
PF8 Standard “Unless” Order or other Order upon failure to file directions questionnaire (rule 26.3, PD 26 paragraphs 2.5 and Form N181)
PF10 Anonymity and Prohibition of Publication Order
PF11 Application for Part 24 Judgment on the whole of a claim or on a particular issue (rule 24.2)
PF16 NOTICE of court’s proposal to make an order of its own initiative (rules 3.3(2) and 3.3(3))
PF17 Order made on court’s own initiative without notice (rule 3.3(4) and (5))
PF19 Group Litigation Order (rule 19.11)
PF20A Application for permission to issue an additional claim under rules 20.4(2)(b), 20.5(1) or 20.7(3)(b)
PF20B Application for directions in an additional claim
PF21 Order for permission to make an additional claim under rules 20.4(2)(b), 20.5(1) or 20.7(3)(b) and directions following such permission
PF22 Notice claiming contribution or indemnity against another defendant (rule 20.6)
PF43 Application for security for costs under rule 25.12 and 25.13
PF44 Order for security for costs (rules 25.12 and 25.13)
PF48 Court Record Form
PF52 Order in the Queen’s Bench Division for case management and costs management directions in the Multi-Track (Part 29)
PF52A Shortened PF52 in the Queen’s Bench Division for multi-track case and costs management directions in Mesothelioma and Asbestosis claims
PF53 Order for separate trial of an issue (rule 3.1(2)(i))
PF56 Request for further information or clarification (Part 18 and PD 18)
PF57 Application for further information or clarification (Part 18 and Practice Direction 18, paragraph 5)
PF58 Order for further information or clarification (Part 18 and Practice Direction 18)
PF63 Interim Order for Receiver in Pending Claim
(CPR Part 69)PF67 Evidence in support of application to make Order of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom an Order of the High Court of Justice (PD40B 13.2)
PF68 Order making an Order of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom an Order of the High Court of Justice (PD40B paragraph 13.3)
PF72 List of Exhibits handed in at Trial (PD39A paragraph 7)
PF74 Order for Trial of Whole Claim or of an Issue by Master or District Judge
(PD2B paragraph 4.1)PF78 Solicitor’s Undertaking as to Expenses (rule 34.13(6)(b))
PF83 Judgment on non-attendance of party at trial (rule 39.3 and PD39A paragraph 2)
PF84A Request for Judgment on failure to comply with an order made under rule 3.5(1) (previously PF85A)
PF84B Judgment on Request arising from failure to comply with an Order made under rule 3.5(1) (rule 3.5(2)) (previously PF85B)
PF84D Judgment on application arising from a failure to comply with an order made under rule 3.5(1) (previously PF84B)
PF85B Order on application arising from a failure to comply with a condition imposed under rule 3.1(3) (previously PF84A)
PF86 Request for issue of Writ of Control (rule 83.9(3))
PF87 Request for Issue of Writ of Sequestration (rule 83.9(3))
PF88 Request for Issue of Writ of Possession (rule 83.9(3) and rule 83.13)
PF89 Request for Issue of Writ of Possession and Writ of Control combined
(rule 83.9(3) and rule 83.13(9))PF90A Request for issue of a Writ of Specific Delivery where judgment or order does not give the alternative of paying the assessed value of the goods (rules 83.9(3) and 83.14(1))
PF90B Request for issue of a Writ of Delivery where judgment or order gives the alternative of paying the assessed value of the goods (rules 83.9(3) and 83.14(2)(a))
PF90C Request for issue of a Writ of Specific Delivery where order made under rule 83.14(2)(b)(rules 83.9(3) and 83.14(2)(b))
PF91 Application for permission to issue a writ of possession (rule 83.13)
PF102 Bench Warrant
PF103 Warrant of committal (general) (rule 81.30)
PF104 Warrant of committal (contempt in face of the court
PF105 Bench Warrant (failure of witness to attend)
PF106 Warrant of committal (of prisoner) (rule 81.30)
PF113 Evidence on Application for Service by an Alternative Method or at an Alternative Place (rules 6.15, 6.27 and PD6A paragraph 9)
PF130 Form of advertisement of service by an alternative method (rule 6.15)
PF141 Witness Statement/Affidavit of Personal Service of Judgment or Order (rules 81.6 and 81.9)
PF147 Application by another party for Order declaring that Solicitor has ceased to act by reason of death etc. (rule 42.4 and PD42 paragraph 4)
PF148 Order declaring that Solicitor has ceased to act by reason of death etc. (rule 42.4 and PD42 paragraph 4)
PF149 Application by Solicitor for declaration that he has ceased to act (rule 42.3 and PD42 paragraph 3)
PF150 Order declaring that Solicitor has ceased to act for a party (rule 42.3 and PD42 paragraph 3.3)
PF152 Evidence in support of application for Examination of a Witness and production of documents under the Evidence (Proceedings in other Jurisdictions) Act 1975
(rule 34.17 and PD34 paragraph 6.3)PF153 Certificate following examination under the Evidence (Proceedings in Other Jurisdictions) Act 1975
(rule 34.19(2))PF154 Order for permission to register a foreign judgment under [s. 9 of the Administration of Justice Act 1920] [s. 2 of the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933] [s. 4 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982] [EU Regulation 1215/2012] (rule 74.3 and 4)
PF156 Evidence in support of application for registration of a Community Judgment
(rules 74.19 and 74.21)PF157 Order for registration of a Community judgment to be served on every person against whom the judgment is given (rule 74.22)
PF159A Evidence in support of application for registration for enforcement in England and Wales of a foreign judgment under the Administration of Justice Act 1920 (CPR 74.3 and 74.4 and Practice Direction 74A paragraph 4.4 and paragraph 5)
PF159B Evidence in support of application for registration for enforcement in England and Wales of a foreign judgment under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 (CPR 74.3 and 74.4 and Practice Direction 74A paragraph 4.4 and paragraph 5)
PF159C Evidence in support of application for registration for enforcement in England and Wales of a foreign judgment under section 4 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (CPR 74.3 and 74.4 and Practice Direction 74A paragraph 4.4)
PF159D Evidence in support of application for registration for enforcement in England and Wales of a foreign judgment under the Lugano Convention (CPR 74.3 and 74.4 and Practice Direction 74A paragraphs 4 and 6A)
PF159E Evidence in support of application for registration for enforcement in England and Wales of a foreign judgment under section 4B of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (registration and enforcement of Judgments under the 2005 Hague Convention) (CPR 74.3(1) and CPR 74.4(5A))
PF160 Order for registration for enforcement in England and Wales of a foreign judgment under the Administration of Justice Act 1920, the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933, section 4 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, section 4A of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (the Lugano Convention) or section 4B of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 (the Hague Convention) (CPR 74.6)
PF163 Evidence in support of application for certified copy of a judgment obtained in the High Court or in the County Court for enforcement in a foreign country (CPR 74.12 and 74.13)
PF164A Evidence in support of application to the High Court for the registration of a certificate for the enforcement of money provisions of a judgment given in another part of the United Kingdom (rule 74.15)
PF 164B Evidence in support of application to the High Court for the registration for the enforcement of the non-money provisions of a judgment in another part of the United Kingdom (rule 74.16)
PF165 Evidence in support of application for registration in the High Court of a Judgment of a court in a another part of the United Kingdom containing non-money provisions (rule 74.16)
PF166 Certificate as to finality, etc. of Arbitration Award for Enforcement Abroad
(Arbitration Act 1996, s.58)PF167 Order to stay proceedings under section 9 of the Arbitration Act 1996
(rule 62.8)PF168 Order on application to transfer claim from High Court to County Court
(sections 40(1) and (2) County Courts Act 1984; High Court and County Court Jurisdiction Order 1991 (as amended); rule 30.3) (see also new form PF168A)PF170A Application for approval of settlement or compromise for a child or protected party in personal injury or Fatal Accidents Act claim before proceedings are begun (rule 21.10(2) and PD21 paragraphs 5 and 7)
PF170B Application for approval of settlement or compromise for a child or protected party in personal injury or Fatal Accidents Act claim after proceedings have been issued (rule 21.10(2) and PD21 paragraphs 6.1 and 7)
PF177 Order for partnership membership statement (PD7A paragraph 5B)
PF179 Evidence on registration of a Bill of Sale given by way of security for the payment of money (Bills of Sale Act 1878 sections 8 and 10; Bills of Sale Act (1878) Amendment Act 1882 section 10)
PF180 Evidence on registration of an Absolute Bill of Sale, Settlement
and Deed of Gift (Bills of Sale Act 1878, sections 8 and 10)PF180B Evidence on application to rectify an omission or misstatement in the registration or renewal of registration of a bill of sale (Bills of Sale Act 1878, section 14; PD 8A paragraph 10A)
PF181 Evidence on renewal of registration of a Bill of Sale
(Bills of Sale Act 1878, section 11)PF182 Order for extension of time to register a Bill of Sale or an affidavit of renewal thereof (Bills of Sale Act 1878, section 14; PD8A paragraph 10A.3)
PF183 Evidence for permission to enter Memorandum of Satisfaction on Bill of Sale
(Bills of Sale Act 1878, section 15; PD8A paragraph 11.5)PF184 Claim form for an order that a memorandum of satisfaction be written of the registered copy of a Bill of Sale (Bills of Sale Act 1878, section 15; PD8A paragraph 11.2)
PF185 Order for entry of Memorandum of Satisfaction on the registered copy of a Bill of Sale
(Bills of Sale Act 1878, section 15; PD8A paragraph 11.5)PF186 Evidence on application to register Assignment of Book Debts
(section 344 Insolvency Act 1986; sections 8 and 10 Bills of Sale Act 1878; PD8A paragraph 15B.4)PF187 Application for solicitor’s charging order (section 73 Solicitors Act 1974)
PF188 Charging order; solicitor’s costs (section 73 Solicitors Act 1974)
PF197 Application for order for transfer from the Royal Courts of Justice to a district registry or vice-versa or from one district registry to another (rule 30.2(4))
PF198 Order for transfer from the Royal Courts of Justice to a district registry or vice-versa or from one district registry to another (rule 30.2(4))
PF205 Evidence in support of application for permission to execute for costs of previous attempts to enforce judgment (section 15(3) and (4) of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990)
The following forms are introduced (some replacing existing forms):
CH1 Case Management Directions for normal use in Chancery Division (replaces Proc01A)
CH2 Full Draft Case Management directions (replaces Proc01)
CH3 Order for Costs and Case Management Conference and trial date (replaces Proc01 CCMC)
CH4 Unless order (replaces Proc 10)
CH5 Order for service out (replaces Appl 5)
CH6 Group litigation order (see also PF19 for non-Chancery)
CH7 Notice of Claim to non-parties (replaces Proc 24)
CH8 Notice of judgment or order to non-parties (replaces Proc 25)
CH9 Witness statement/affidavit in support of application for appointment of new litigation for child (replaces PF32CH)
CH10 Order for an injunction (intended action) Part 25 (replaces PF39CH)
CH11 Order for interim injunction Part 25 (replaces PF40CH)
CH12 Order for stay for ADR PD26 (replaces Proc01S)
CH13 Executor’s/Administrator’s Account Part 40 (replaces PF28CH)
CH14 Order stating results of proceedings on usual accounts and inquiries in admin claim Part 40 (replaces PF29CH)
CH15 Common form of Order for Sale rule 40.16 (replaces Sale 1)
CH16 Order nominating person to execute sale rule 40.16 (replaces Sale 2)
CH17 Order for account and inquiry PD40A (replaces Inquiry 2)
CH18 Order for partnership account and inquiry PD40A (replaces Inquiry3)
CH19 Result of partnership account and inquiry PD40A (replaces Inquiry 5)
CH20 Result of account of money due PD40A (replaces Inquiry 6)
CH21 Order declaring that a solicitor has ceased to act rule 42.3 (replaces Proc 20)
CH22 Mortgage: suspended possession order Part 55 (replaces Mg/PF5CH)
CH23 Mortgage possession order Part 55 (replaces Mg 2)
CH24 Order appointing administrator pending determination of probate claim Part 57 Section 1 and PD57A (replaces PF36CH)
CH25 Security of receiver/administrator pending determination of probate claim Part 57 (replaces PF30CH)
CH26 Order in Probate claim involving compromise Part 57 (replaces PF38CH)
CH27 Handing out testamentary documents for examination rule 57.5 (replaces Prob 4)
CH28 Revocation/refusal of grant of probate rule 57.5 (replaces Prob 3)
CH29 Order pronouncing for some words, against others Part 57 Section II (replaces Prob 5)
CH30 Order pronouncing for completed copy/torn up will Part 57 Section II (replaces Prob 6 and 7)
CH31 Tomlin Order – 1975 Act Part 57 Section IV (replaces Family 1)
CH32 Order for approval of compromise (replaces Family 2)
CH33 order granting permission to make application under 1975 Act after time expired Part 57 Section IV (replaces Family 3)
CH34 Order for Claimant to be Defendant – 1975 Act Part 57 Section IV (replaces Family 4)
CH35 Order for provision under 1975 Act Part 57 Section IV (replaces Family 5)
CH36 Enforcing charging order (single defendant) (replaces Mg 3)
CH37 Enforcing charging order (multiple defendants) (replaces Mg 4)
CH38 Order for distribution of a Lloyds Estate
CH39 Lloyd’s Estate Form of Witness Statement
N208PC Planning Statutory Review. Part 8 Claim form
PF7B Request for service of document on a State (rule 6.44)
(to be filed in the Central Office of the Royal Courts of Justice)PF71 Evidence in support of application for relief from sanctions (rule 3.8 and 3.9)
PF84C Application for entry of judgment on failure to comply with an order made under rule 3.5(1) (rule 3.5(5))
PF85A Application for order arising on failure to comply with a condition imposed under rule 3.1(3)
PF84C Application for entry of judgment on failure to comply with an order made under rule 3.5(1)
PF168A Order of the court’s own initiative to transfer claim from High Court to County Court
(section 40(1) and (2) County Courts Act 1984; High Court and County Court Jurisdiction Order 1991 (as amended); rule 30.3)PF180A Evidence on application to extend time for registration of a bill of sale or an affidavit of its renewal (Bills of Sale Act 1878, section 14; PD8A paragraph 10A)
The following forms are deleted:
No.90
No.105
No.106
No.104
No.110 replaced by Form 110
No.111 replaced by Form 111
No.112 replaced by Form 112PF12
PF13 replaced by No.44C
PF15 replaced by No.44D
PF21A (now part of PF21)
PF98
PF99
PF100
PF101
PF158 see PF157 as amended
PF155
PF159 replaced by PF159A-E
PF161 redundant due to form 160 and rule 74.9
PF164 replaced by PF164A and PF164BPF29CH replaced by CH14
PF30CH replaced by CH25
PF32CH replaced by CH9
PF36CH replaced by CH24
PF38CH replaced by CH26
PF39CH replaced by CH10
PF40CH replaced by CH11Take notice:
Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents from 31 July 2013
An amendment to paragraph 1.1(A1)(a) and (b) extends until 6 April 2016, the date by which a medical expert, preparing an initial report in a soft tissue injury claim, must be accredited by MedCo Registration Solutions (“MedCo”).
82nd Update coming into force November/December 2015
The 82nd Update to the Civil Procedure Rules introduces changes in a number of areas. Amendments to rules come into force on 3 December 2015, practice direction changes come into force on two dates in November. The changes are set out full in the Statutory Instrument and Practice Direction Making Document.
Part 26 – Case Management – preliminary stage
Amendments make provision that in a County Court claim for a specified sum of money only the claim will be sent to the defendant’s local hearing centre, if and when a hearing is required, if the defendant is an individual. In all other cases, the claim will be sent to the claimant’s preferred hearing centre as indicated on the claim form or directions questionnaire. Other amendments are made within the same rule to make clear where claims must be sent where a claimant specifies on the directions questionnaire an alternative hearing centre to that indicated on the claim form; and where the defendant indicates on the directions questionnaire an alternative hearing centre to the hearing centre local to their address. The amendments come into force on 3 December 2015.
Practice Direction 2C Starting Proceedings in the County Court
The amendment provides for the issue of proceedings under the Companies Acts at the Central London County Court hearing centre rather than in the High Court. The changes come into force on 7 December 2015.
Practice Direction 5B Electronic Communications and Filing of Documents
The existing practice direction is replaced to give effect to changes that will allow increased communication with and by the County Court by way of e-mail, and to remove references to services which are no longer operational. The changes will come into force on 7 December 2015.
PD51O The Electronic Working Pilot Scheme
The existing pilot scheme (as set out in Practice Direction PD51J) allowing for the electronic filing of claims and subsequent documents in the Technology and Construction Court is replaced. The new scheme extends the pilot to the Chancery Division, the Commercial Court, the Mercantile Court, and the Admiralty Court (“the Rolls Building Jurisdictions”). Compliance with the pilot scheme is not mandatory. The scheme will operate for one year from 16 November 2015.
Take notice:
Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents from 31 July 2013
An amendment to paragraph 1.1(A1)(a) and (b) extends, by one month to 1 February 2016, the date by which a medical expert, preparing an initial report in a soft tissue injury claim, must be accredited by MedCo Registration Solutions (“MedCo”).
Take notice:
The Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments (Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005) Regulations 2015 SI No 1644 which makes amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules is published. The changes which come into effect on 1 October 2015.
81 st Update coming into force October 2015
1. The 81 st Update to the Civil Procedure Rules introduces changes in a number of areas. The majority of the amendments come into force on 1 October 2015. The changes relating to Statutory Planning applications (PD8C, Part 52, PD54E) will come into force on the date the statutory provision to which they relate (section 91 of the Criminal Courts and Justice Act 2015, which introduces Schedule 16 to that Act) comes into force. Amendments relating to the provisions for making Telecommunication Restriction Orders will come into force on the day on which and immediately after The Telecommunications Restriction Orders (Custodial Institutions) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 come into force.
Part 3 – The Court’s Case Management Powers
Early Neutral Evaluation Amendments make it clear that the court’s case management powers include hearing an Early Neutral Evaluation. Further amendments make provision for the way in which the court is to approach case management in a case where at least one of the parties is unrepresented.
Unrepresented Parties A new rule makes provision for the way in which the court is to approach case management in a case where at least one of the parties is unrepresented.
Part 5 – Court Documents
A signpost is added to assist users by indicating the rules contained in other parts of the CPR which disapply the rules about supply of documents from court records.
Practice Direction 6B – Service Out of the Jurisdiction
Amendments are made to a number of the existing gateways for service out of the jurisdiction of trust claims, and a new gateway in relation to claims for breach of confidence or misuse of private information is introduced.
Part 7 – How to Start Proceedings – The Claim Form
The procedure for filing at court the relevant documents where the claimant serves the claim and particulars of claim on the defendant are clarified.
Practice Direction 8A – Alternative Procedure for Claims
Amendments make provision for the making of Telecommunication Restriction Orders to allow communications service providers to remove services where the illegal use of a mobile phone in prison has been identified. The amendments will come into force on the day on which and immediately after The Telecommunications Restriction Orders (Custodial Institutions) (England and Wales) Regulations 2015 come into force.
Practice Direction 8C – Alternative Procedure for Statutory Review of Certain Planning Matters
A new Practice Direction is introduced supporting implementation of the provisions about statutory planning challenges. Amendments are also made to Part 52 Appeals, PD8A – Alternative Procedure for Claims and PD54E Judicial and Statutory Review. The amendments come into force on the day on which and immediately after, section 91 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 comes into force, but the changes do not apply in relation to any application to which section 288(4A) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 does not apply.
Practice Direction 30 – Transfer
Amendments are made to enable the High Court to transfer certain competition cases to the Competition Appeal Tribunal (CAT).
Part 47 and Practice Direction 47 – Procedure for Assessment Of Costs And Default Provisions
The rules are amended to provide that details of costs budgets are provided when detailed assessment of costs is required (Model Precedent Q).
Practice Direction 51I – The County Court at Central London Multi-Track Pilot Scheme
The current HMCTS pilot for transfer of work to the County Court at Central London is extended until 30 September 2016.
Practice Direction 51L – New Bill of Costs Pilot Scheme
A pilot scheme for testing a new bill of costs, Precedent AA, to reflect the costs management and costs budgeting procedures is introduced.
Practice Direction 51M – Financial Markets Test Case Scheme
A new Practice Direction providing for a pilot scheme for Financial Market “test” cases, designed to give the opportunity where appropriate to resolve market uncertainty issues at an earlier stage than is currently conventional is introduced.
Practice Direction 51N – Shorter and Flexible Trials Pilot
A new Practice Direction provides for two pilot schemes to run in the Rolls Buildings.
The Shorter Trial Scheme involves a streamlined procedure leading to judgment within a year of issue of proceedings. For commercial parties it offers dispute resolution on a commercial timescale.
The Flexible Trial Scheme involves the adoption of more flexible case management procedures where the parties so agree resulting in a more simplified and expedited procedure than the full trial procedure currently provided for under the CPR.
Part 52 – Appeals, PD8A – Alternative Procedure for Claims, PD8C – Alternative Procedure for Statutory Review of Certain Planning Matters, PD54E Judicial Review and Statutory Review
Amendments introduce a permission stage for certain planning challenges; amendments to various practice directions supporting this initiative are also made to support a quick and efficient procedure for planning claims. The amendments come into force on the day on which and immediately after, section 91 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 comes into force, but the changes do not apply in relation to any application to which section 288(4A) of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 does not apply.
Practice Direction 52C – Appeals to the Court of Appeal
An amendment is made to correct a typographical error.
Part 63A – Financial List and Practice Direction 63AA – Financial List
A new Part 63A and supporting Practice Direction are introduced providing for a new single specialist list, called the Financial List, sitting in both the Chancery Division and the Commercial Court to handle the more complex and important financial markets cases. A number of forms are introduced to support the new list and consequential amendments are made to Practice Direction 4.
Forms:
Forms N462 and N462(PC) are amended.
Forms: N1(CCFL), N1(CHFL), N1C(CCCHFL), N9(CCFL), N9(CHFL), N208(CCFL), N208(CHFL), N211(CCFL), N211 (CHFL), N213(CCFL), N213(CHFL), N244(CCFL), N244(CHFL), N265(CCFL) and N265(CHFL) are introduced in relation to the Financial List.
Take Notice:
1. The following Pre-Action Protocols have been amended and come into effect on 6 April 2015:
- The Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims
- The Pre-Action Protocol for the Resolution of Clinical Disputes
- The Pre-Action Protocol for Professional Negligence
- The Pre-Action Protocol for Judicial Review
- The Pre-Action Protocol for Housing Disrepair Cases
- The Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims by Social Landlords
- The Pre-Action Protocol for Possession Claims Based on Mortgage or Home Purchase Plan Arrears in Respect of Residential Property
- The Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers Liability and Public Liability) Claims
The changes to the Pre-Action Protocols can be seen in the PAP making document.
The Pre-Action Conduct Practice Direction is also amended and changes can be seen in the PD Making Document to the 79th Update below.
2. Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents – please note that the address for searches of accredited medical experts should read: http://www.askCUE.co.uk. The website address will go live in June.
80th Update coming into force 17 April 2015
Amendments are made to Parts 76, 79, 80, 82 and 88 in relation to Temporary Exclusion Orders to ensure consistency with other parts of the rules, to correct an error and to make clear that the “relevant person” referred to is the Secretary of State. The amendments come into force on 17 April 2015.
79th Update coming into force April 2015 – PD Making Document
Amendments to the Practice Directions in relation to the 79th Update to the CPR can been seen in the 79th update – Practice Direction amendments document.
79th Update coming into force April 2015
The 79th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules introduces changes in two areas: Parts 21 and 46 in relation to costs coverable from awards to protected parties coming into force on 6 April 2015; and Part 54 in relation to judicial review application.
The Practice Direction Making Document will be published in due course.
Part 21 Children and Protected Parties and Part 46 Costs Special Cases
Costs payable by a Child/Protected party from a damages award
A further amendment is made to Part 21 clarifying the amendments made in the 78th Update and the amendments to Part 46 in relation to those changes are introduced. The amendments come into force on 6 April 2015.
Part 54 Judicial Review and Statutory Review
Implementation of s84 and s87 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015
Section 84 of the Act amends section 31 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 with regard to judicial reviews in which the court considers it highly likely that the outcome for the applicant would not been substantially different had the conduct complained of not occurred.
The section will require the court to consider such arguments when raised at permission and, where the ‘highly likely threshold’ is met, refuse permission unless the court considers it appropriate to do so for reasons of exceptional public interest. The court may not grant a remedy where the ‘highly likely threshold’ is met except where it considers it appropriate to do so for reasons of exceptional public interest.
Further amendments are to provide that a relevant party (within the meaning of section 84 of the 2015 Act) may apply to the court for the intervener to pay the costs that the relevant party has incurred as a result of the intervention.
The amendments will come into force on the date that sections 84 and 87 of the Criminal Justice and Courts Act 2015 come into force.
Update coming into force with immediate effect 26 and 27 February 2015
Temporary Exclusion Orders
Please note the amendments made to the Civil Procedure Rules coming into force on 27 February 2015.
The rules amend the Civil Procedure Rules for the purpose of implementing Chapter 2 of Part 1 of the Counter-Terrorism and Security Act 2015 by amending rule 1.2 (so that it is subject to rule 88.2 (modification to the overriding objective)); and inserting a new Part 88 containing rules about proceedings in relation to temporary exclusion orders, particularly where sensitive material is in issue and it is necessary to ensure that such material is not disclosed where such disclosure would be contrary to the public interest.
The Public Contracts Regulations 2015
Amendments in relation to CPR Part 54 came into force on 26 February 2015. These were consequential amendments contained in paragraph 11 of Schedule 6 of the Public Contracts Regulation 2015 and can be seen at: www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/102/contents/made
There are no amendments to forms.78th Update coming into force January and April 2015
The 78th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules introduces changes in a number of areas. The amendments in respect of the implementation of Regulation (EU) No. 606/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters (the “Protection Measures Regulation”) come into force on 11 January 2015. The remainder of the amendments come into force on 6 April 2015. The amendments for this update are contained in a Statutory Instrument and Practice Direction Making Document.
Part 21 Children and Protected Parties
Costs payable by a Child/Protected party from a damages award
Amendments are made to address the growing number of applications at approval hearings for payment out of the child\protected party’s damages to meet the success fee provided for in the conditional fee agreement or entered into between the litigation friend and the solicitor for the child\protected party. The rules are amended to reflect when and how a deduction from damages of a sum to meet any shortfall between the costs recoverable from the other party and the ‘solicitor and own client’ costs payable to the child’s\protected party’s solicitors applies. The amendments are confined to those cases where the award or ordered do not exceed £25,000. Consequential amendments are made to Part 47, PD 21 and PD46. The amendments come into effect on 6 April 2015.
PD29 The Multi-Track and Part 30 Transfer
Diversion of cases to London
Amendments are made to the rules in respect of transfer of cases, to require litigants engaged in disputes in regional courts to state the reasons why a particular case should be transferred to London for determination when the appropriate specialist courts are available regionally. The amendments come into effect on 6 April 2015.
Part 36 and PD36A Offers to settle
Part 36 of the CPR set outs the procedure to be followed where a party makes an offer to settle a matter, or part of a matter, and the consequences of making such offers. Since the rules were substantially amended in 2007 there has been a large amount of case law in respect of the application of the rules to various aspects of settlement including fraudulent claims and offers in respect of a split trial). The changes reflect the case law and aim to simplify the rules as far as possible to make them more accessible to court users, particularly litigants in person. Consequential amendments are made to Parts 37, 44, 45, 47 and 52. The amendments come into effect on 6 April 2015.
PD27 The Small Claims Track and PD46 Costs – Special cases
Litigants in person costs
A small amendment is made to (1) hourly rate that litigants in person conducting their own case may claim for legal work; and (2) the amount a party or witness may be paid for attending a small claim hearing. The first amount is increased from £18 to £19 per hour and the second from £90 to £95 per day. The increase is based on the change as represented by the Average Weekly Earning Index since the figures were last amended in 2011.
PD52D Statutory Appeals and Appeals subject to special provision
Temporary Appellate jurisdiction for Bar Standards Authority
The practice Direction is amended to enable appeals against certain decisions of the Bar Standards Board (BSB) to be considered by the High Court for a short period of time until the appropriate legislation is in place to allow a decision of the BSB’s Qualifications Committee be appealed to the General Regulatory Chamber of the First Tier Tribunal. The amendments come into force on 6 April 2015.
Part 74 and PD 74A Enforcement of Judgments in Different Jurisdictions
EU regulation on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters
Amendments to the rules allow for implementation of Regulation (EU) No. 606/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council on mutual recognition of protection measures in civil matters (the “Protection Measures Regulation”). This Regulation will allow protection measures made in the UK to be automatically recognised and enforced in other member states (except Denmark, which is not bound by the Regulation), and the recognition and enforcement in the UK of protection measures made in such other member states. Protection measures are defined in the Regulation and essentially involve obligations on a person to refrain from contacting or approaching another person. The County Court and the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court will conduct proceedings under the Regulation. Similar amendments are being made to the Family Procedure Rules. Consequential amendments are made to Part 81. The regulation and amendments come into force on 11 January 2015.
Correction
Amendments are made to correct two numbering errors in the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 7) Rules 2014 (S.I. 2014 No. 2948 (L. 32)) relating to the implementation of Regulation (EU) N 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast). The amendments come into force on 9 January 2015.
Part 87 Applications for Writ of Habeas Corpus
The introduction of a new Part 87 dealing with applications for Habeas Corpus is part of the ongoing work of the CPR Committee to transfer the remaining Rules of the Supreme Court into the CPR. The rules are modified to update the language and to reflect the process in the Administrative Court which deals with such applications. Part 87 sets out the procedure code to be followed where the court is required to determine whether a custodian has the lawful authority to detain a prisoner. Many of the Latin terms have been replaced with simpler English phrases to assist the court user, the one exception being “Habeas Corpus” which has been retained as a widely recognised term.
RSC Order 54 is omitted and there are consequential amendments to PD4. The amendments come into force on 6 April 2015.Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury claims in Road Traffic Accidents Protocol (RTA PAP)
Amendments are made to reflect the introduction of a new system for sourcing medical reports in soft tissue injury claims brought under the RTA PAP. A ‘not for profit’ company ‘MedCo Registration Solutions’ (‘MedCo’) has been set up to operate this system, and from 6 April 2015, medico-legal experts and medical reporting organisations (MRO) will need to be registered with MedCo in order to provide medico-legal reports for RTA soft tissue injury claims. Users will be able to use the MedCo Portal to search for individual experts or MROs and will receive a number of randomly generated results from which to choose, to prevent the potential for conflicts of interest between those commissioning and those providing medico-legal reports. In addition, there will also be a new accreditation requirement for medico-legal experts and MRO to help improve the quality of medical evidence and drive up standards. The amendments will also require solicitors to undertake ‘previous claims’ checks on potential claimants and to confirm to the defendant that this has been done. Consequential amendments are made to Part 45, PD8B, 16, PD35 and Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims. The amendments come into force on 6 April 2015.
Forms:
Forms N242A, N260, No. 89, No.91 and No.92 are amended.
Forms No.87, No. 88, and No. 90 are deleted.Take notice
The Practice Direction – Directors Disqualification Proceedings has been amended and a new Practice Direction substituted. The Practice Direction came into force on 9 December 2014 and contains a note highlighting the reasons for change and the main amendments.
Problems with court forms?
Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) is responsible for the provision of the CPR forms – if you have any comments or observations about the availability of court forms, please email Civil_Justice_Poli@Justice.gov.uk
