NEW RULES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 12TH SEPTEMBER 2025 AND THE 1ST OCTOBER 2025 (2): DISPUTING EVIDENCE AND FILING EVIDENCE IN PART 8 PROCEEDINGS
Here we look at the latest statutory instrument which makes changes to the rules. This time a highly specific rule making amendments to Part 8 to deal with the filing of evidence where the defendant states it intends to dispute…
AMENDMENTS TO ONLINE CIVIL MONEY CLAIMS PILOT COME INTO FORCE TODAY: PLUS AN IMPORTANT LETTER FROM HMCTS
The 187th Update Practice Direction Amendments come into force today. These make changes to the Online Civil Claims Pilot. These make important changes and should be read in conjunction with the letter from HMCTS dated 25th July 2025 which is…
CHANGES TO RULES OF ACCEPTING SERVICE BY EMAIL: SOME VERY MODEST PROPOSALS: (AND BYE BYE TO THE FAX MACHINE)
The current consultation by the Civil Procedure Rule Committee relates to important issues of service that have featured many times in the courts, and on this site. Here we look at the issues being considered relation to the automatic agreement…
CHANGES TO THE COMMERCIAL COURT AND LONDON CIRCUIT COMMERCIAL COURT PRACTICE ON THE VALUE OF CLAIMS
A Practice Note issued issued earlier this month sets out changes to the practice of the Commercial Court in relation to the value which it will consider transferring claims to other courts. These changes take effect from the 1st July…
ANOTHER (WELL HIDDEN) CHANGE IN THE SPECIAL ACCOUNT RATE: REDUCED TO 4.75%
I am grateful to Barrister Matthew White for pointing out that the Courts Funds Office has reduced the special account rate from 5% to 4.75% from 6/12/24. MATHEW’S SPECIAL DAMAGES INTEREST CALCULATOR Mathew’s special damages interest calculator reflects the change….
THE COURT’S POWERS IN RELATION TO ORDERING MEDIATION: A SUMMARY: AND A WEBINAR ON MEDIATION OF PARTICULAR USE TO HOUSING LAWYERS
The Civil Procedure Rules were amended on the 1st of this month to make it clear that the court can compel the parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution. Here we look at the changes. There is a webinar on…
AMENDMENTS TO THE RULES COMING INTO FORCE ON 1st OCTOBER 2024: A QUICK OVERVIEW
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2024 come into force on the 1st October. We will be looking at some of the provisions in detail nearer the time. The new rules can be found here. In the interim period here…
PRACTICE DIRECTION AMENDMENTS COMING INTO FORCE 6th APRIL 2024 (2) VAT AND COUNSEL’S FEES
The 165th update to the Practice Direction comes into force on the 6th April 2024, alongside the 163rd amendment looked at in the previous post. The amendments can be found here. This Practice Direction deals with adding VAT to fixed…
THE 163rd UPDATE TO THE PRACTICE DIRECTIONS: COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 6th APRIL 2024 (1)
There are a number of amendments to Practice Directions coming into force on the 6th April 2024. Details of the 163rd update can be found here. OVERVIEW By way of overview the amendments relate to Civil restrain orders. (New…
PENAL NOTICES ON ORDERS – CHANGES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 6th APRIL 2024: A SIGNIFICANT CHANGE BY THE USE OF THE WORD “BY”
Yesterday we looked at a case where the judge held it was inappropriate for the court to add a penal notice to an existing order. The rules relating to penal notices are changing on the 6th April as a result…
CHANGES IN ELIGIBILITY FOR COURT FEE REMISSION: THE COURTS AND TRIBUNALS (FEE REMISSION AND MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS) ORDER 2023
The Courts and Tribunals (Fee Remissions and Miscellaneous Amendments) Order 2023 increases the capital and income limits for fee remission from the 27th November 2023. The Order is available here. The explanatory notes are set out below. CAPITAL CHANGES…
FIXED COSTS: THE COURT MAY CONSIDER A HIGHER SUM IF A PARTY OR WITNESS IS “VULNERABLE”
The rules make provision allowing the court to award a higher sum for damages when a party, or witness is vulnerable. However there are significant caveats. It must be the vulnerability that has required additional work to be undertaken and the…
FIXED COSTS AND PART 36: THE 35% GAIN IF A CLAIMANT BEATS THEIR OWN OFFER
The new rules introduce a fixed percentage as an “additional liability” in cases where a case is subject to fixed costs and a case has Part 36 costs consequences. Where a claimant has beaten their own offer and, normally, an…
NEW FIXED COSTS RULES: WHEN IS A CASE ALLOCATED TO THE INTERMEDIATE TRACK?
The new rules introduce the “intermediate track”. Here we look at the factors that lead to allocation to that track. From the 1st October 2023 we have a new CPR 26.9. The small claims track remains. The fast track is…
PRACTICE DIRECTION CHANGES PUBLISHED YESTERDAY: CAME INTO FORCE 40 MINUTES AGO… CHANGES TO THE ONLINE CIVIL CLAIMS PILOT
The 159th update – Practice Direction Amendments was published yesterday and came into force at 11.00 today. (I am told that this is an improvement over some previous amendments which came into force before they were published). THE PRACTICE DIRECTION The update…
NEW RULES AS TO ADMISSIONS: READ THEM HERE: IN FORCE 1st OCTOBER 2023
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2023 introduce a “new” Part 14 on admissions. The is not to make any substantial changes but are part of a process of simplifying the rules. So, for instance, the criteria for seeking to…
RULE CHANGES ON THE 1ST OCTOBER 2023: FIXED RECOVERABLE COSTS AND ALL THAT: LOOKING AHEAD – A QUICK GLANCE AT THE PRIMARY SOURCES
The rules introducing the “Intermediate Track” for cases between £25,000 and £100,000 are now published, they come into force on the 1st October 2023. There are links to the source material below. A more detailed guide to the changes will…
THE EXTENSION OF FIXED COSTS: USEFUL LINKS AND GUIDES
The extension of fixed costs is a major topic. I will write about the practical implications when we are nearer to the implementation date. In the interim there are some useful links and guides. THE RULES The new rules…
ANOTHER CHANGE IN THE RULES ON APRIL 6th: PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS CAN SAY GOODBYE (IN SOME CASES) TO THE ADMIRALTY COURT
The focus on the new rules on QOCS coming into force on the 6th April may lead to losing sight of some other changes. In particular the new rules and amendments to the Practice Direction in relation to accidents at…
THE NEW RULES ON QOCS FROM APRIL 6th: OMNIBUS EDITION
The new rules on QOCS come into force on the 6th April. Here is a review of the key points as to issue, the consequences and links to useful commentary. WHEN THE RULES COME INTO FORCE The key date…
APRIL 5th IS AN IMPORTANT DATE: WHAT IS MEANT BY “ISSUED” IN THE CONTEXT OF CHANGES TO QOCS?
The new rules relating to the ability to set off defendant’s costs liabilities against a claimant’s costs and damages have, I am told, led to a rush to issue proceedings and a backlog in some courts. These rules come into…
RULE CHANGES IN APRIL 2023: UP TO £100,000 CAN BE PAID INTO COURT FOR A PROTECTED BENEFICIARY
Another change coming into force on the 6th April is an increase, to £100,000, that the court can order be paid into court for a protected beneficiary. This is, quite specifically, aimed to reduce the number of cases that come…
THE NEW RULES ON QOCS 3: WHAT INFORMED COMMENTATORS ARE SAYING: & TWO USEFUL WEBINARS
In the third in this series I thought it would be useful to highlight what informed commentators are saying in relation the new rules. I have gathered a range of views below. I have taken some key comments, however reading…
THE NEW RULES ON QOCS AND COSTS 1: IMPLEMENTATION
The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 make major changes to the rules relating to the set off of costs and QOCS, reversing the decision of the Supreme Court in Ho -v- Adelkun. Here I want to look at the rule…
MORE ABOUT THE CLAIMS PORTAL: AMENDMENTS RELATING TO LEGAL PROFESSIONALS RESPONDING TO CLAIM IS NOW REVOKED: KEEP UP TO DATE WITH TWITTER…
Another tweet from HMSCTS clarifies the position in relation to defendant’s compulsory use of the claims portal which was discussed yesterday. It appears that the amendments relating to legal professionals responding to claims has not simply been postponed, but this…
TEMPORARY HALT TO USE OF CLAIMS PORTAL: PUBLIC ANNOUNCEMENT BY A TWEET… THESE CIVIL PROCEDURE RULES WILL NOT LONGER COME INTO EFFECT ON 2ND JUNE 2022
Practice Direction 51ZB was amended so that it would be compulsory for defendants to use the portal from the 2nd June 2022. However this has been delayed. A tweet from HM Courts and Tribunal Services made at 1.33 today…
USING THE DAMAGES CLAIM PILOT PRACTICE DIRECTION FROM TODAY ONWARDS: SIGN UP AND SEE THE MOVIE
The HMCTS weekly update yesterday stated “From Monday 4 April 2022, legal professionals issuing claims for damages that fall under the scope of Practice Direction 51ZB should use the Damages Claim service on MyHMCTS.” SIGN UP Legal professionals acting for…
NEW RULES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 6TH APRIL 2022 (4): CHANGES TO STATEMENT OF VALUE ON THE CLAIM FORM IN PERSONAL INJURY CASES
The new rules reflect the fact that the small claims limit for personal injury damages now requires a figure of £1,500 for pain and suffering, there are specific provisions in relation to road traffic accidents. The rules change the statement…
NEW RULES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 6TH APRIL 2022 (3): THESE RULES, THEY AREN’T “NEW” ANY MORE
One small change in the rules means that they have left their infancy and, presumably, having now graduated, are entering early adulthood. THE OLD RULE CPR 1.1(1) currently reads (1) These Rules are a new procedural code with the overriding…
NEW RULES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 6TH APRIL 2022 (2): A BRAND NEW PART 12 ON DEFAULT JUDGMENT
From the 6th April 2022 onwards the existing rules in Part 12 are deleted and replaced with the new rules set out below. THE NEW PART 12 ON DEFAULT JUDGMENT The following rule totally substitutes the existing Part 12 from…
NEW RULES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 6th APRIL 2022 (1): ACKNOWLEDGING SERVICE AND THE NEW CPR PART 10
New rules are coming into force on the 6th April 2022. This is the first of a series of posts dealing with these changes. There is to be a totally new CPR Part 10, the old rule being replaced entirely…
NEW RULES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 1ST OCTOBER 3: PERMISSION TO APPEAL FROM FIRST INSTANCE JUDGEAFTER ADJOURNMENT
The rules currently provide that application for permission to appeal to the judge who made the decision must be made to the lower court at the hearing at which the decision to be appealed was made. If an application is…
NEW RULES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 1ST OCTOBER 2: PROHIBITION ON RECORDING IN COURT EXTENDED BEYOND “TAPE RECORDERS”
Another amendment introduced by The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) Rules 2021 is an addition to the definition section of CPR Part 2 to make it clear that the prohibition on “tape recording” extends to any other device that can be…
NEW RULES COMING INTO FORCE ON THE 1ST OCTOBER 1: VOLUNTARY INTERIM PAYMENTS TO CHILDREN AND PROTECTED PARTIES
There is a new batch of rules coming into force on the 1st October 2021, introduced by The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 4) Rules 2021. Here we look at the rules relating to interim payments. WHAT THE CHANGES DO…
WITNESS STATEMENTS IN THE BUSINESS AND PROPERT COURTS: GESTMIN PRINCIPLES NOW ENSHRINED IN THE RULES
From the 6th April this year some of the key principles from the judgment in Gestmin SGPS S.A. -v- Credit Suisse [2013] EWCA 3560 (Comm) are effectively enshrined into the rules. Key parts of the Gestmin principles are included in the Appendix to…
THE NEW WITNESS STATEMENT REQUIREMENTS AND ADMIRALTY CLAIMS: NEW RULES WILL APPLY
The new requirements for certification of witness statements in the Business and Property Courts come into force on the 6th April 2021. Initially it was thought that Admiralty claims may be excluded, because of the importance of contemporary statements in…
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…
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,…
AMENDMENTS TO PD 55 C: STAY EXTENDED TO 30th JULY 2021
The online version of PD 55C shows an extension of the time period for suspension of possession proceedings to 30th July 2021. THE AMENDED PRACTICE DIRECTION Is available here. THE RULE 1.1 of the PD now reads ” This…
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…
COSTS BUDGETING: PRECEDENT T: EXCEL VERSION
I am grateful to Sean Linley for sending me an excel version of the new Precedent T. It gives me another chance to remind people of the new rules that come into force and and post photos of cars that…
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 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…
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