
NEW RULES COMING INTO FORCE IN APRIL 2021 4: NON-DISCLOSURE OF AFFIDAVITS
A new rule coming into force on the 6th April 2021 expressly extends the prohibition on the use of witness statements in proceedings to affidavits. THE ISSUE There is currently a lacuna in the rules. There is a prohibition on…

RULE CHANGES COMING INTO FORCE IN APRIL 2021 (3): VULNERABLE PARTIES AND WITNESSES (AGAIN)
I am returning to the changes being introduced in relation to vulnerable parties and witnesses because the new rules are now available here . The new Practice Direction was looked at in detail in an earlier post. CHANGES TO…

RULE CHANGES COMING INTO FORCE IN APRIL 2021 (2): PART 36 OFFERS AND THE ACCRUAL OF INTEREST AFTER THE RELEVANT DATE FOR ACCEPTANCE
The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2021 introduce a new CPR 36.5 (5)introduce a new rule as to offers and interest after the expiry of an offer. It enables the party making the offer to include provision for interest to accrue after…
VULNERABLE WITNESSES IN CIVIL PROCEEDINGS: THE NEW RULES: WEBINAR 22nd MARCH 2021
I am presenting a webinar on the 22nd March 2021 dealing with the new rules relating to vulnerable witnesses in civil proceedings. The new rules are coming into force on the 6th April 2021. These change the rules so that…
RULE CHANGES COMING INTO FORCE IN APRIL 2021(1): VULNERABLE WITNESSES AND THE OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE
There are some rule changes coming into force in April this year, introduced by the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2021, these come into force on the 6th April 2021. AMENDMENT TO THE OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE The new rules are referred to,…

PD51ZA WAS NOT EXTENDED: NEW PROVISIONS PLANNED TO ALLOW RULES TO BE CHANGED DURING PUBLIC EMERGENCY
There have been several enquiries recently as to whether PD51ZA, which allowed the parties to agree lengthier extensions of time, was extended. The simple answer is that it was not. The rule expired on 30th October 2020. MINUTES OF…
WITNESS STATEMENTS: IMMINENT NEW RULES IN THE BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS
Last year we looked at the report of the Witness Evidence Working Group for the Business and Property Courts. This set out why changes were needed to the drafting of witness statements in those courts. Some of the proposals in…

EXTENSION OF STAY OF POSSESSION PROCEEDING TO THE 20th SEPTEMBER 2020
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 5) (Coronavirus) Rules 2020 extend the stay on possession proceedings from the 23rd August to the 20th September 2020. THE RULES The rules can be found here. WHAT THE RULES DO The mechanism is…

THE NEW COSTS MANAGEMENT PRACTICE DIRECTION: COMING INTO FORCE 1st OCTOBER 2020: READ IT HERE
The new Costs Management Practice Direction comes into force on the 1st October 2020. It is set out in full below. SOME POINTS OF INTEREST The specific exclusion of cases where the claimant has a limited life expectancy (which…
CHANGES COMING INTO FORCE IN OCTOBER 2: NEW RULES AS TO COSTS BUDGETS
The 122nd update Practice Direction Amendments come into force on the 1st October 2020. Some of the changes relate to costs budgeting. We will look at these in more detail nearer the time they come into force. So that people…

CHANGES COMING INTO FORCE IN OCTOBER 1: CHANGES TO THE STATEMENTS GIVEN BY EXPERTS
The 122nd update Practice Direction Amendments come into force on the 1st October 2020. We have already looked at the changes to the rules relating to proceedings for contempt. Here we look at the change relating to the declaration that…

NEW PRACTICE DIRECTION DEALING WITH PROCEDURE RELATING TO POSSESSION PROCEEDINGS FOLLOWING LIFTING OF THE STAY
A new Practice Direction comes into force on the 23rd August 2020. Practice Direction 55C. This deals with the procedure to be adopted in relation to those actions that have been stayed by reason of the Practice Direction and…

NEW RULES ON COMMITTAL PROCEEDINGS: COMING INTO FORCE 1st OCTOBER 2020
This blog has written on many cases in which practice and procedure relating to committal hearings has been found wanting. A new CPR Part 81 comes into force on the 1st October 2020, as a result of the The Civil Procedure…

THE NEW RULES: LINKS TO ALL THE POSTS: MITIGATION, THE STATEMENT OF TRUTH AND WITNESS STATEMENTS IN A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
The rules that came into force yesterday seemed to take some people by surprise. I did write about them back in February, but a few things have happened since then. Here are links to the previous posts on the new…

GOOD MORNING FOLKS: REMEMBER (TO ADD TO ALL YOUR OTHER TROUBLES) THE RULES CHANGE TODAY…
To add to all the practical difficulties facing litigators the 113th update to Practice Direction Amendments comes into force today. Here are some of the key points. THE AMENDMENT TO THE STATEMENT OF TRUTH This the major change that will…

THE NEW PRACTICE DIRECTION 2: “THE COURT WILL TAKE INTO ACCOUNT THE IMPACT OF THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC”
Looking at paragraph 4 of the Practice Direction today it, in effect, enshrines commonsense. However there are still steps lawyers should take to protect their clients (and their own) position. “In so far as compatible with the proper administration of…

NEW MANDATORY REQUIREMENTS FOR WITNESS STATEMENTS IN APRIL: STATE THE PROCESS BY WHICH THE STATEMENT WAS OBTAINED
It is worth isolating one aspect of the changes to the rules relating to witness statements coming into force in April as a result of The 113th update to Practice Direction Amendments. That is the mandatory obligation in every witness statement…

WITNESS STATEMENTS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES: CHANGES COMING INTO FORCE IN APRIL
The 113th update to Practice Direction Amendments introduces important changes to to witness statements in foreign languages (Coming into force from the 6th April 2020). CHANGES TO PRACTICE DIRECTION 22 – STATEMENTS OF TRUTH There are amendments and addition…

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STATEMENT OF TRUTH (1): WHY IT NEEDED “BEEFING UP” (THE RULES COMMITTEE COULD HAVE DONE THIS FIVE YEARS AGO…)
Yesterday was, by a long way, the busiest day on this blog ever. The reason for this being that everyone is anxious to know the new wording for the statement truth. There is a need for a short series on…

MORE RULE CHANGES IN APRIL: CHANGES TO THE STATEMENT OF TRUTH: YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED…
We are returning to the 113th update to Practice Direction Amendments. This introduces important changes to to the wording of the statement of truth. (Coming into force from the 6th April 2020). THE AMENDMENT The amendment makes changes to the…