Civil Procedure Rules 1998
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 1998/3132 |
| Year | 1998 |
1998 No. 3132 (L.17)
SUPREME COURT OF ENGLAND AND WALES
COUNTY COURTS
The Civil Procedure Rules 1998
Made 10th December 1998
Laid before Parliament 17th December 1998
Coming into force 26th April 1999
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee, having power under section 2 of the Civil Procedure Act 19971to make rules of court under section 1 of that Act, make the following rules which may be cited as the Civil Procedure Rules 1998—
PART 1
OVERRIDING OBJECTIVE
Contents of this Part
The overriding objective |
Rule 1.1 |
Application by the court of the overriding objective |
Rule 1.2 |
Duty of the parties |
Rule 1.3 |
Court’s duty to manage cases |
Rule 1.4 |
The overriding objective
1.1.—(1) These Rules are a new procedural code with the overriding objective of enabling the court to deal with cases justly.
(2) Dealing with a case justly includes, so far as is practicable—
(a)
(a) ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing;
(b)
(b) saving expense;
(c)
(c) dealing with the case in ways which are proportionate—
(i) to the amount of money involved;
(ii) to the importance of the case;
(iii) to the complexity of the issues; and
(iv) to the financial position of each party;
(d)
(d) ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously and fairly; and
(e)
(e) allotting to it an appropriate share of the court’s resources, while taking into account the need to allot resources to other cases.
Application by the court of the overriding objective
1.2. The court must seek to give effect to the overriding objective when it—
(a) exercises any power given to it by the Rules; or
(b) interprets any rule.
Duty of the parties
1.3. The parties are required to help the court to further the overriding objective.
Court’s duty to manage cases
1.4.—(1) The court must further the overriding objective by actively managing cases.
(2) Active case management includes —
(a)
(a) encouraging the parties to co-operate with each other in the conduct of the proceedings;
(b)
(b) identifying the issues at an early stage;
(c)
(c) deciding promptly which issues need full investigation and trial and accordingly disposing summarily of the others;
(d)
(d) deciding the order in which issues are to be resolved;
(e)
(e) encouraging the parties to use an alternative dispute resolution(GL) procedure if the court considers that appropriate and facilitating the use of such procedure;
(f)
(f) helping the parties to settle the whole or part of the case;
(g)
(g) fixing timetables or otherwise controlling the progress of the case;
(h)
(h) considering whether the likely benefits of taking a particular step justify the cost of taking it;
(i)
(i) dealing with as many aspects of the case as it can on the same occasion;
(j)
(j) dealing with the case without the parties needing to attend at court;
(k)
(k) making use of technology; and
(l)
(l) giving directions to ensure that the trial of a case proceeds quickly and efficiently.
PART 2
APPLICATION AND INTERPRETATION OF THE RULES
Contents of this Part
Application of the Rules |
Rule 2.1 |
The glossary |
Rule 2.2 |
Interpretation |
Rule 2.3 |
Power of judge, Master or district judge to perform functions of the court |
Rule 2.4 |
Court staff |
Rule 2.5 |
Court documents to be sealed |
Rule 2.6 |
Court’s discretion as to where it deals with cases |
Rule 2.7 |
Time |
Rule 2.8 |
Dates for compliance to be calendar dates and to include time of day |
Rule 2.9 |
Meaning of “month” in judgments, etc. |
Rule 2.10 |
Time limits may be varied by parties |
Rule 2.11 |
Application of the Rules
2.1.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2), these Rules apply to all proceedings in—
(a)
(a) county courts;
(b)
(b) the High Court; and
(c)
(c) the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal.
(2) These Rules do not apply to proceedings of the kinds specified in the first column of the following Table (proceedings for which rules may be made under the enactments specified in the second column) except to the extent that they are applied to those proceedings by another enactment—
Proceedings |
Enactments |
1. Insolvency proceedings |
Insolvency Act 19862, ss.411 and 412 |
2. Non-contentious or common form probate proceedings |
Supreme Court Act 19813, s.127 |
3. Proceedings in the High Court when acting as a Prize Court |
Prize Courts Act 18944, s.3 |
4. Proceedings before the judge within the meaning of Part VII of the Mental Health Act 19835 |
Mental Health Act 1983, s.106 |
5. Family proceedings |
Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 19846, s.40 |
The glossary
2.2.—(1) The glossary at the end of these Rules is a guide to the meaning of certain legal expressions used in the Rules, but is not to be taken as giving those expressions any meaning in the Rules which they do not have in the law generally.
(2) Subject to paragraph (3), words in these Rules which are included in the glossary are followed by “(GL)”.
(3) The words ‘counterclaim’, ‘damages’, ‘practice form’ and ‘service’, which appear frequently in the Rules, are included in the glossary but are not followed by “(GL)”.
Interpretation
2.3.—(1) In these Rules—
“child” has the meaning given by rule 21.1(2);
“claim for personal injuries” means proceedings in which there is a claim for damages in respect of personal injuries to the claimant or any other person or in respect of a person’s death, and “personal injuries” includes any disease and any impairment of a person’s physical or mental condition;
“claimant” means a person who makes a claim;
“CCR” is to be interpreted in accordance with Part 50;
“court officer” means a member of the court staff;
“defendant” means a person against whom a claim is made;
“defendant’s home court” means—
(a) if the claim is proceeding in a county court, the county court for the district in which the defendant’s address for service, as shown on the defence, is situated; and
(b) if the claim is proceeding in the High Court, the district registry for the district in which the defendant’s address for service, as shown on the defence, is situated or, if there is no such district registry, the Royal Courts of Justice;
(Rule 6.5 provides for a party to give an address for service)
“filing”, in relation to a document, means delivering it, by post or otherwise, to the court office;
“judge” means, unless the context otherwise requires, a judge, Master or district judge or a person authorised to act as such;
“jurisdiction” means, unless the context otherwise requires, England and Wales and any part of the territorial waters of the United Kingdom adjoining England and Wales;
“legal representative” means a barrister or a solicitor, solicitor’s employee or other authorised litigator (as defined in the Courts and Legal Services Act 19907) who has been instructed to act for a party in relation to a claim;
“litigation friend” has the meaning given by Part 21;
“patient” has the meaning given by rule 21.1(2);
“RSC” is to be interpreted in accordance with Part 50;
“statement of case”—
(a) means a claim form, particulars of claim where these are not included in a claim form, defence, Part 20 claim, or reply to defence; and
(b) includes any further information given in relation to them voluntarily or by court order under rule 18.1;
“statement of value” is to be interpreted in accordance with rule 16.3;
“summary judgment” is to be interpreted in accordance with Part 24.
(2) A reference to a “specialist list” is a reference to a list(GL)that has been designated as such by a relevant practice direction.
(3) Where the context requires, a reference to “the court” means a reference to a particular county court, a district registry, or the Royal Courts of Justice.
Power of judge, Master or district judge to perform functions of the court
2.4. Where these Rules provide for the court to perform any act then, except where an enactment, rule or practice direction provides otherwise, that act may be performed—
(a) in relation to proceedings in the High Court, by any judge, Master or district judge of that Court; and
(b) in relation to proceedings in a county court, by any judge or district judge.
Court staff
2.5.—(1) Where these Rules require or permit the court to perform an act of a formal or administrative character, that act may be performed by a court officer.
(2) A requirement that a court officer carry out any act at the request of a party is subject to the payment of any fee required by a Fees Order for the carrying out of that act.
(Rule 3.2 allows a court officer to refer to a judge before taking any step)
Court documents to be sealed
2.6.—(1) The court must seal(GL) the following documents on issue—
(a)
(a) the claim form; and
(b)
(b) any other document which a rule or practice direction requires it to seal.
(2) The court may place the seal(GL) on the document—
(a)
(a) by hand; or
(b)
(b) by printing a facsimile of the seal on the document whether electronically or otherwise.
(3) A document purporting to bear the court’s seal(GL) shall be admissible in evidence without further proof.
Court’s discretion as to where it deals with cases
2.7. The court may deal with a case at any place that it considers appropriate.
Time
2.8.—(1) This rule shows how to calculate...
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