Changes to the legal system
by Neil Harrold 22 Jun 2011
The Ministry of Justice has issued proposals under a new consultation, to modernise the civil justice system, ‘creating a simpler, quicker and more proportionate system'. This is part of Justice Minister Ken Clarke's view that with no major reform in 15 years, the justice system is ‘out of kilter'.
The proposed changes come in addition to last year's consultation to reform the ‘no win, no fee' system for personal injury claims. consultation is lengthy but includes the following proposals:
A raise to the small claims limit
Raising the maximum value for small claims from £5,000 to £15,000 will enable more cases to be heard through the simple small claims rather than a more costly, complicated trial.
Help people and businesses avoid court
Introducing automatic referral to mediation in small claims cases, or mediation awareness sessions in higher-value cases aims to achieve this. This is to help people avoid the anxiety and expense of court where possible, although court will still be an option for those who mediation cannot help. This proposal is encouraged by recent high success rates in matters referred to the small claims mediation service.
More effective enforcement
This is to be achieved by the introduction of Information Orders and Requests to enable the courts to access independent information about a debtor's status and assets. The government also looks to tightening enforcement techniques - eg making it more difficult for debtors to stop money from being frozen by putting it in different accounts.
Limit the value at which a judgment debt may be enforced by way of an order for sale
This would protect property owners by setting a minimum level of consumer debt at which their property or stocks could be put at risk for non-payment of a judgment debt.
Creating one national County Court jurisdiction across England and Wales in place of the regional County Court jurisdictions
The aim of this is to enable cases and judges to be allocated more efficiently and centralised processes to be used more widely. From the user's point of view, the theory is that this will make the system quicker.
The consultation plans to modernise the system. It aims to ensure there are cheaper, quicker and simpler alternatives to litigation and to crack down on those debtors who won't pay their debts, while ensuring that those who can't pay are protected.
Once the consultation is complete it will be interesting to see how many of the proposals are implemented. To find out further information or how these changes may affect you, please contact Neil Harrold on 0191 232 8345 or email neil.harrold@hay-kilner.co.uk
Please note:
This article is not legal advice; it is intended to provide information of general interest about current legal issues. Please contact us to discuss how the contents of the article may affect you.
