The following is a brief resume of the current work programme of the Civil Justice Council (CJC).
Access to justice for litigants in person
I write this a couple of weeks before the fifth CJC National Forum on Access to Justice for litigants in person (LiPs), which is taking place in early December 2016.
The CJC is proud that this has become a key event in the calendar for all those involved in work on increasing access to justice for those pursuing a claim without access to legal representation. This year, the 120 delegates are drawn from the judiciary, academia, the advice sector, the legal professions and others.
The focus of the discussion will be on the way in which a new strategic approach, spearheaded by Mr Justice Knowles, is working in practice. There will be particular focus on the three strategic priorities pinpointed for work over the last 12 months, namely:
- Public legal education.
- The provision of a single entry point website for those with an interest in the area.
- The provision of early legal advice.
A summary of the discussion will be made available on the CJC’s website.
The online court
While the CJC is not directly involved at this stage, it welcomes the development of more accessible online court services (as described in the government’s consultation, “Transforming Justice“) and its undertaking to ensure that everyone is able to use the services of courts and tribunals.
In its recent response to that consultation, the CJC welcomed HM Courts and Tribunals Service’s (HMCTS) approach to user engagement and testing, in the run-up to the modernisation process, and expressed a hope that the assisted digital services and processes would be tested and piloted alongside the IT systems that are being designed to facilitate online court processes.
Concurrent evidence (“hot-tubbing”)
Readers may be interested to see the CJC’s report on concurrent evidence (or “hot-tubbing“).
This report explores the different ways in which concurrent evidence has been used in civil courts in the UK. Based on a short survey of judges, lawyers and expert witnesses, the report makes a series of recommendations on changes that might be made to CPR 35.11 to increase clarity in the use of such procedures, and to encourage its use.
The conclusion seems to be that, although hearing expert evidence concurrently might not reduce costs, it does improve the quality of the assessment of the issues in what are often difficult subject areas.
Fixed recoverable costs
Following its workshop on fixed recoverable costs, earlier in the year, the CJC was interested to hear of Lord Justice Jackson’s further work in the area, and stands ready to provide any help deemed necessary.
Speaking of fixed recoverable costs, the work of the noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) working group is drawing to a close, and a report will be presented to the CJC in January 2017. It will be published shortly thereafter.
The NIHL working group has been looking at a new process for the resolution of these claims and (inevitably with more difficulty) the correct level of payment attaching to the different stages in that process.
Boundary disputes
Boundary disputes remain a type of claim in which the costs often considerably outweigh the value of the land under dispute, and have been the subject of two recent Private Member’s Bills.
The CJC recently hosted a discussion group, ably facilitated by District Judge William Jackson, to look at the value and limitations of expert-led panels and to consider other ways of speeding the resolution of these often emotive cases.
It will be of no surprise to readers that the provision of early advice on the claim, and encouragement to attempt mediation, were two of the recommendations that the CJC will be passing back to the Ministry of Justice.
Mediation
Continuing the theme of mediation, under the chairmanship of William Wood QC, the CJC is looking at the whole area of alternative dispute resolution (ADR), domestically and abroad, with a particular focus on ways of providing affordable options for those pursuing or defending a claim between £30,000 and £150,000.
Before the event (BTE) insurance
The CJC is also starting to look at before the event (BTE) insurance policies as a possible source of funding for civil claims. This project, currently in its early stages, will be undertaken under the chairmanship of Professor Rachael Mulheron and her deputy Maura McIntosh.
The CJC is constantly surprised by the goodwill of all those who offer their time and expertise free of charge in helping it carry out its work. We remain grateful for this considerable resource, without which it would not be possible for the CJC to function.
