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10 February 2012 / Peter Thompson KC
Issue: 7500 / Categories: Opinion , Procedure & practice
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Small but perfectly formed

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Is the small claims court so bad, asks Peter Thompson QC

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a litigant in person must be in want of a lawyer. This seems to be the conclusion of the working group set up by the Civil Justice Council to consider access to justice for litigants in person (November 2011). Its main task was “to consider what steps could be taken to improve access to justice for litigants in person”. Its starting point was that the present civil justice system was “a system of real quality, but one designed for lawyers, and which as a consequence was and is far too complex and obscure for those representing themselves”.

Troublesome system

Features of the civil justice system that must be troublesome for the litigant in person include the presumed mastery of a whole volume of protocols, rules, and practice directions. Even topics that have simple titles like disclosure, offers to settle, and costs turn out to have technical requirements and dire consequences for anyone who does

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