Lord Briggs issues warning of "serious threats"
The Chancery Division is facing “serious threats” to its ability to fend off delays due to reduced resources, an increasing workload and more intense case management under the Jackson reforms, Lord Justice Briggs has warned.
Briggs LJ’s provisional report into the division, published last week, found that its decisions are of “outstanding” quality and are made within a reasonable timeframe. However, he said this could change as the court comes under more pressure. He also advised that its IT and case management systems had fallen behind modern practices in comparable courts.
Among more than 100 provisional recommendations, Briggs LJ suggested increased use of docketing and case management, modern IT, the provision of fair rather than just palliative treatment for litigants in person, re-directing case management towards dispute resolution rather than just trial, and national recognition that no chancery case is too large to be dealt with in a regional trial centre.
He also recommended four-day week trials in London and some regions, freeing Fridays up for case management, fixed length trials and the transfer of more bankruptcy work to the Central London County Court.
