Civil way: 6 January 2012

BILLION ISSUE FEE SHOCK

The Ministry of Justice plans to respond to the ongoing consultation on High Court and Court of Appeal fee hikes on 7 May 2012 so issue and file away as fast as you can and save ££££££s! These are among the near inevitable kicks in the molars—the High Court application notice fee set to rise to £105, a new urgent hearing without notice application fee in the same sum and the fee for issuing a bill of sale leaping from £25 to £60 though you can probably live with that one.

But it’s the Big Litigation commencement and hearing fees that will drain the colour from your Green Book. This is what they want to do. Add additional bands over the current limit when starting proceedings with the result that a plus £30,000 to £50,000 claim form will cost £1,800 (presently the fee peaks at plus £30,000 or when