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A civil sea change?

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16 April 2015 / David Greene
Issue: 7649 / Categories: Opinion
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David Greene examines the ongoing civil justice projects that a new government will have to address

Will the forthcoming election and the changes that are bound to follow in personnel at the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) mark a sea change in civil justice reform? The general line developed over the past few years has been to dissuade those seeking to resolve disputes from using the court process to achieve that end. The latest episode in that process has seen an unprecedented rise in court fees. There is nothing to suggest that any of the parties who may form all or part of the next government altering this stance to any great extent. 

There are a number of projects in civil justice that remain in process that a new government will be addressing in some fashion over the next 12 months.

Introducing an inquisitorial process

The adversarial process is built upon the concepts that parties are both capable of presenting an argument and that there is equality of arms between the parties. Both are

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