header-logo header-logo

The rationing game

24 January 2014 / Neil Hudgell
Issue: 7591 / Categories: Opinion
printer mail-detail
web_hudgell

The Jackson reforms are centred around economics, not justice, says Neil Hudgell

After well over nine months, enough has been said and written about the Jackson reforms but little if any attention has been given to what now seems to be a clear picture of the driving force behind these changes: civil justice for personal injury claimants is to be rationed, based upon the simple value of the claim rather than its substantive merits. The real losers are not just accident victims but all of us as we now have a second rate civil justice system.

Thou shalt not ration justice

Lord Neuberger gave a powerful speech in February 2012, part of a series of pre-Jackson lectures, curiously referred to as the Implementation Programme , where he set out the context of the reforms, citing the terrible blight of exorbitant litigation costs. He said: “Where litigation costs deny effective access to justice, this will in due course undermine belief in, and commitment, to the rule of law, and that results in the undermining of

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll