In a recent case, the High Court has rejected a party’s application to adjourn a five-week trial that is due to commence in June this year, where that would have meant a year’s delay before the trial could be held: In the matter of One Blackfriars Ltd [2020] EWHC 845 (Ch). The decision underlines the … Read more

A new Practice Direction (PD 51ZA) took effect yesterday. It is designed to introduce additional flexibility for parties to agree extensions of time where their ability to comply with deadlines is affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and to ensure that the court takes into account the impact of the pandemic when considering whether to grant … Read more

In our post last Friday, we outlined how the courts were adapting to the challenges posed by the Covid-19 crisis, and in particular the announcement from the Lord Chief Justice that hearings would be held remotely where possible. Since then events have moved quickly, with the Prime Minister’s announcement earlier this week essentially putting the … Read more

With the effects of the COVID-19 outbreak continuing to take hold on nearly all aspects of day-to-day life, what does this mean for the continued operation of the judicial system, and more specifically any court proceedings that businesses may be involved in or contemplating? Where proceedings are already on foot, businesses may have dates fixed … Read more

It was announced yesterday that Lord Reed will succeed Lady Hale as President of the Supreme Court when she retires on 10 January 2020, having served as president since September 2017. Lord Reed is currently Deputy President, and therefore a new Deputy President will need to be appointed. Three additional appointments were also announced, to … Read more

On 28 March 2019, the government published a consultation seeking views on implementing the proposals in Lord Justice Jackson’s report on fixed recoverable costs (“FRC”) for civil claims, which was published on 31 July 2017 (see this post). The consultation will be open until 6 June 2019. Lord Justice Jackson’s report recommended extending the current … Read more

From 6 April 2019, a number of changes to the Civil Procedure Rules will come into effect with the intention of reinforcing the principle of open justice and clarifying how it operates in the civil courts. The amendments include: emphasising the general rule that hearings are to be held in public, and clarifying the test … Read more

The government has published a draft statutory instrument, the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019, which makes amendments to the CPR that are consequential on the various other civil justice measures that are to be implemented in the event of a no deal Brexit. These include, most importantly, the disapplication of the … Read more