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26 September 2019 / Peter Thompson KC
Issue: 7857 / Categories: Opinion , Procedure & practice , Legal services , Legal aid focus
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Litigation without lawyers

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The small claims system is too complicated for non-lawyers & needs simplifying, says Peter Thompson QC

The law by which civil claims are administered is drafted by lawyers, interpreted by lawyers and applied and enforced by lawyers. You have to be qualified as a lawyer to understand it. Most of the individual litigants for whose benefit the system has been established are unable to afford a lawyer and, in the case of money claims for no more than £10,000, are discouraged from engaging one. These claims are known as small claims, and they make up over half of the total turnover of the courts. They are brought and defended by litigants in person.

No legal frills

Currently concern is expressed by the judiciary that litigants in person are upsetting the administration of justice by misunderstanding court orders and directions and by making misconceived applications and appeals. They are not acting maliciously, but are thrashing about making mistakes through their lack of legal understanding. So how has this come about and

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