Civil way: 3 November 2023

LAWBITES

Shrinking world The Hague convention on international child abduction came into force as between the UK and Jamaica on 1 November 2023 (see SI 2023/1084).

Pre-trial checklist (listing questionnaire) Form N170 is not quite sure what it is. It started its life as a ‘listing questionnaire’. Some way along the line it was baptised as a ‘pre-trial checklist’ and now it is a schizophrenic ‘pre-trial checklist (listing questionnaire)’ although it sometimes loses the ‘listing questionnaire’ in CPR text. Whichever appellation you adopt, it has just changed (along with the directions questionnaire in form N18) to accommodate the new intermediate track. For both fast and intermediate tracks, litigants are told that the court will normally give three weeks’ notice of the date fixed for trial unless, in exceptional circumstances, shorter notice has been directed. You will need to say whether shorter notice would be accepted. An estimate of costs must be attached if no costs management