Having at first hand experienced the heated battle of CCMCs, in which costs draftsmen and (usually) junior Counsel joust in front of a Master on the level of costs incurred thus far and those yet to come, it seems that change might be in the air. Lord Justice Jackson is preparing a speech / paper on costs budgeting, to be finalised by mid-May. He is looking, amongst other matters, at the circumstances in which the Court should decline to carry out costs budgeting (because of a concern at the delays being caused to listing generally by the new regime) and at whether there should be some sort of provisional costs budgeting exercise on paper.You will no doubt remember Ian Miller’s prediction on this very ‘… [Read More...]
Fee increase to take place next Monday
A dramatic hike in court fees is to take place on Monday 9th March 2015. The Law Society has published the following table (see below) of the new court fees suggesting solicitors consider issuing cases this week. Employment Tribunal fees were increased in July 2013 and the effect is thought to have been to reduce the number of tribunal claims substantially. It remains to be seen whether the increase of court fees will have the same effect. The move will inevitably raise questions as to whether access to justice is being made more difficult. It may also sharpen the debate about whether our legal system should be funded by society as a whole or simply by its users: is the civil justice system simply about settling disputes between individuals… [Read More...]