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Civil Justice Council reports on pre-action protocols

29 August 2023
Issue: 8038 / Categories: Legal News , Procedure & practice , Technology , Legal services
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The Civil Justice Council (CJC) published part one of its final report on pre-action protocols last week.

The CJC pre-action protocols working group, chaired by Professor Andrew Higgins, began work in late 2020. The report discusses the potential for digital pre-action portals to make dispute resolution more accessible and efficient, as well as examining the risks involved.

It recommends compliance be made formally mandatory, except where cases are urgent: for example, where the limitation period is expiring or an urgent injunction is sought. Online pre-action portals ‘should be accessible and workable for both professional court users and litigants in person, and digital assistance or paper-based alternatives must be available for litigants in person who are technologically disadvantaged’.

Special provision is made for vulnerable parties—all online pre-action portals should include a question asking parties about their vulnerability, so that extra support can be provided.

Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls and CJC chair, said: ‘Pre-action protocols are an essential part of the wider pre-action civil justice system.’

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