The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2021
| Year | 2021 |
2021 No. 196 (L. 4)
Senior Courts Of England And Wales
County Court, England And Wales
The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2021
Made 24th February 2021
Laid before Parliament 25th February 2021
Coming into force 31th May 2021
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee, having power under section 2 of the Civil Procedure Act 19971to make rules under section 1 of and Schedule 1 to that Act and after fulfilling the requirements of section 2(6) of that Act, makes the following Rules.
Citation, commencement and interpretation
1.—(1) These Rules may be cited as the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2021 and come into force on 31st May 2021.
(2) In these Rules, a reference to a Part or rule by number alone means the Part or rule so numbered in the Civil Procedure Rules 19982.
Amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998
2. The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 are amended in accordance with rules 3 to 9 of these Rules.
Amendment of Part 14
3.—(1) In the list of contents at the beginning of Part 14, for the entry in the first column for rule 14.1B, substitute—
“Admissions made under the RTA Protocol, the EL/PL Protocol or the RTA Small Claims Protocol”.
(2) In rule 14.1B—
(a)
(a) for the heading to the rule, substitute—
“Admissions made under the RTA Protocol, the EL/PL Protocol or the RTA Small Claims Protocol”;
(b)
(b) in paragraph (1), after “(‘the RTA Protocol’)”, for “or” substitute “,”; and
(c)
(c) after “(‘the EL/PL Protocol’)”, insert “or the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents (‘the RTA Small Claims Protocol’)”;
(d)
(d) in paragraph (2)(a)(i), before “during the initial consideration”, insert “where the RTA Protocol or the EL/PL Protocol applies,”; and
(e)
(e) after paragraph (2), insert—
“2A Where the RTA Small Claims Protocol applies, the defendant’s admissions may be withdrawn pursuant to paragraph 8.9 of that Protocol.”.
Amendment of Part 16
4. In rule 16.3—
(a) in paragraph (3), for “In a claim”, substitute “Subject to paragraph (3A), in a claim”;
(b) after paragraph (3), insert—
“3A Where—
(a) a claim for personal injuries arises from a road traffic accident which occurs on or after 31st May 2021; and
(b) rules 26.5A, 26.6A or 26.6B do not apply to that claim,
the claimant must state in the claim form whether the amount which the claimant expects to recover as general damages for pain suffering and loss of amenity is—
(i) not more than £5,000; or
(ii) more than £5,000.
3B ‘Road traffic accident’ has the meaning ascribed to it by rule 26.6(2A).”.
Amendment of Part 26
5.—(1) In the list of contents at the beginning of Part 26, after the entry for rule 26.6, insert—
“Road traffic accident related personal injury claims |
Rule 26.6A |
Children and protected parties |
Rule 26.6B”. |
(2) In rule 26.3(1), for “If a defendant”, substitute “Subject to rule 26.5A, if a defendant”.
(3) In rule 26.5(1), for “The court”, substitute “Subject to rule 26.5A, the court”.
(4) After rule 26.5, insert—
“26.5A.—(1) This rule applies where—
(a)
(a) the parties have followed the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents; and
(b)
(b) proceedings have been started under Practice Direction 27B.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), where this rule applies, the claim shall be treated as allocated to the small claims track when it is issued and rules 26.3, 26.4 and 26.5 will not apply.
(3) Where in any claim started or continued under Practice Direction 27B—
(a)
(a) the appropriate court form states that—
(i) the amount claimed is more than £10,000; or
(ii) the claim for personal injury damages is more than £5,000; or
(b)
(b) rule 26.6A applies,
a court officer must refer the claim to a judge for allocation to a track and to give directions.”.
(5) In rule 26.6—
(a)
(a) for paragraph (1)(a)(ii), substitute—
“(ii)
“(ii) the value of any claim for damages for personal injuries is not more than—
(aa) £5,000 in a claim for personal injuries arising from a road traffic accident, except as provided in sub-paragraph (bb);
(bb) £1,000 in a claim for personal injuries arising from a road traffic accident, in any of the circumstances specified in rule 26.6A; or
(cc) £1,000 in any other claim for personal injuries;”.
(b)
(b) after paragraph (2), insert—
“2A ‘Road traffic accident’ means an accident resulting in a bodily injury to any person caused by, or arising out of, the use of a motor vehicle on a road or other public place in England and Wales unless the injury was caused wholly or in part by a breach by the defendant of one or more of the relevant statutory provisions as defined by section 53 of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 19743.”;
(c)
(c) after rule 26.6, insert—
“Road traffic accident related personal injury claims
26.6A. The circumstances referred to in rule 26(1)(a)(ii)(bb) are—
(a) the accident occurred before 31st May 2021;
(b) unless rule 26.6B applies, on the date that proceedings are started, the claimant is—
(i) a child; or
(ii) a protected party;
(c) when the accident occurred, the claimant was—
(i) using a motor cycle;
(ii) a pillion passenger on, or a passenger in a sidecar attached to, a motor cycle;
(iii) using a wheelchair, a powered wheelchair or a mobility scooter4;
(iv) using a bicycle or other pedal cycle;
(v) riding a horse; or
(vi) a pedestrian;
(d) unless rule 26.6B applies, on the date that proceedings are started—
(i) the claimant is an undischarged bankrupt; or
(ii) the claimant or defendant acts as a personal representative of a deceased person; or
(e) unless rule 26.6B applies, on the date of the accident, the defendant’s vehicle was registered outside the United Kingdom.
Children and protected parties
26.6B.—(1) The fast track is the normal track where a claim—
(a)
(a) is for personal injuries arising from a road traffic accident which occurs on or after 31st May 2021;
(b)
(b) is made by—
(i) a child or a protected party; or
(ii) a person who, on the date the claim was first presented via the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents, was a child; and
(c)
(c) consists of, or includes, a claim for a whiplash injury.
(2) Where this rule applies, the claim must not be allocated to the small claims track.
(3) ‘Whiplash injury’ has the meaning ascribed to it by paragraph 1.2(38) of the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents.”.
(6) In rule 26.7, for “under rule 26.6”, substitute “under rules 26.6, 26.6A or 26.6B”.
Amendment of Part 27
6. In rule 27.2, for paragraph (2B) substitute—
(a) in paragraph (2), after “to the extent that a rule”, insert “or a practice direction under this Part”; and
(b) after paragraph (2), insert—
“2A A rule or practice direction may, in relation to a specified type of small claims—
(a) require or permit the use of the procedure set out in this Part; and
(b) disapply or modify any of the rules set out in this Part as they may apply to those small claims.”.
Amendment of Part 35
7. In rule 35.4—
(a) For paragraph (3C), substitute—
“3C In a claim for a whiplash injury, whether or not it is part of a claim for other injuries—
(a) permission—
(i) may normally only be given for one expert medical report in respect of the claim for the whiplash injury; and
(ii) may not be given initially unless the medical report is a fixed cost medical report; and
(b) where the claimant seeks permission to obtain a further medical report in respect of the claim for the whiplash injury only, the report must be a fixed cost medical report if the report is from a medical expert in any of the following disciplines—
(i) Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon;
(ii) Consultant in Accident and Emergency Medicine;
(iii) General Practitioner registered with the General Medical Council; or
(iv) Physiotherapist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council.
3D Where, in respect of a claim for a whiplash injury, the claimant lives outside England and Wales, but chooses to be examined in England or Wales, paragraph (3C) applies.
3E Where the claimant obtains a medical report in respect of a more serious injury suffered on the same occasion as the whiplash injury, the claimant may be given permission to use that report instead of a fixed cost medical report under paragraph (3C) provided that—
(a) the report is from a doctor who is listed on the General Medical Council’s Specialist Register; and
(b) the report provides evidence of the whiplash injury.
3F Unless paragraph (3D) applies, where, in respect of a...
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