1 September 2009: Early in 2009, the Master of the Rolls, Sir Anthony Clarke, appointed Lord Justice Jackson to lead a fundamental review of the rules and principles governing the costs of civil litigation and to make recommendations in order to promote access to justice at proportionate cost. A period for submissions to the Review closed at the end of July 2009 after Lord Justice Jackson presented his preliminary findings during May. The Reviews findings are due to be presented in December 2009.

The 650 page preliminary report sets out the current law, procedure and quanta of civil litigation costs. It also includes a number of initial conclusions:

• The introduction of one-way cost shifting into collective actions in England and Wales would be a ‘step too far’
• Away from business litigation, parties are not well informed about the benefits of alternative dispute resolution
• The personal injury litigation  industry is populated by numerous interest groups and middlemen, all of whom have to meet their overheads and make a profit on top. If any layer of activity can be removed from the process…….it may be thought that this will serve the public interest.
• Interms of court fees, it is wrong, in principle, that the entire cost, or most of the cost of the civil justice system should be shifted from tax payers to litigants
• A contingent legal aid fund (CLAF) has some attraction
• Following the retraction of legal aid, either conditional fee arrangements (CFA’s) or some other system of payment by result ‘must exist’ in order to facilitate access to justice.

Options for reform in certain areas are also included such as:

• Disclosure
• Expert evidence
• Costs assessment, both detailed assessment and summary assessment

The full preliminary report is available by clicking here:  

Civil Litigation Costs Review