Civil Procedure Rules

Since 1999, the procedural aspects in civil proceedings in England have primarily been governed by a code, named the Civil Procedure Rules. These rules are frequently abbreviated to “CPR”.

The Civil Procedure Rules replaced the Rules of the Supreme Court (abbreviated to the “RSC”) and the County Court Rules (“CCR”).

The CPR is made up of over 70 Parts. Each part usually deals with distinct subject matter, but there are some overlaps. Each Part is made up of individual Rules, and most Parts are accompanied by one or more Practice Directions.

Importance of the Civil Procedure Rules

The features of the Civil Procedure Rules include:

1. the “overriding objective” which was designed to introduce proportionality and procedural fairness in English legal proceedings. “Proportionality” in the sense that litigation should be conducted with some balance with the sums or issues in dispute; failure to do so is likely to mean that a party which incurs disproportionate legal costs on (say) a relatively small dispute will not recover all of their legal costs – only a sum proportionate to the sum in dispute. There are exceptions for the conduct of a litigant which causes a party to incur what would otherwise be disproportionate costs;
2. one set of rules for the High Court and County Court;
3. specific case management powers contained at CPR 3. These case management provisions shifted the power to timetable proceedings from the parties to the Court;
4. procedural processes which encourages - or requires - the parties to identify issues in dispute at an early stage. This is commonly referred to as the “cards on the table approach”, and promotes of early settlement rather than progressing the case to the trial. Litigation is seen as a last resort for disputing parties;
5. reduction in scope and extent of disclosure, to a proportionate level;
6. reduction of use of expert evidence to that which is necessary and proportionate;
7. introduction of three “tracks” which reflect the court resources required to deal with the case. The tracks are the Multi-Track, Fast Track and Small Claims Track. Allocation of a case to the appropriate track has consequences for disclosure, witness statements, and the time to the trial.
8. Introduction of Pre-Action Protocols, which require exchange of relevant information and documents prior to issuing proceedings to promote the prospects of settlement prior to issue of proceedings.

Updates

The Civil Procedure Rules are published at the Department of Justice website at www.justice.gov.uk. They are updated at twice annually.

Court Guides

Individual Courts also have their own procedural idiosyncrasies, which are set out in Court Guides. These include:

1. Chancery Court Guide;
2. Queen’s Bench Court Guide;
3. Intellectual Property Enterprise Court Guide; and
4. Family Court Guide.

These guides should be considered in conjunction with the CPR, as they contain detailed steps of procedure and what the court expects of litigants conducting litigation in those courts. They are frequently overlooked.