New litigation rules come into force

Friday 02 June 2017

The reform of Jersey's litigation rules, designed to improve the speed and reduce the cost of disputes, has just come into force.

The reforms include a set of amendments to the Royal Court Rules and 11 new and amended Practice Directions.

Advocate Oliver Passmore from Ogier's Jersey Dispute Resolution team says that the new rules will provide more certainty in terms of timescales and costs, and will result in a swifter and more proportionate system of dispute resolution.

He says that the new Rules and Practice Directions bring a series of key developments including an explicit objective which is to deal with cases justly and at proportionate cost. They also include new rules on the content and timing of pre-action communications and the nature and content of offers to settle if they are to be taken into account when the Royal Court deals with costs of proceedings.

The reform also introduces a new power for the Royal Court to dispense with discovery or to limit it to what is reasonable and proportionate and a change to the test to be applied by the Court on applications for summary judgement. It will also allow parties to a tabled dispute will be able to agree a four-week adjournment without leave of the court.

Finally, it stipulates that where the value of a claim is estimated to be less than £500,000, costs budgets must be filed within seven days of a first summons for a directions hearing. 

Advocate Passmore commented: "The reforms that have come into force today will provide more robust case management, which will benefit all court users. The new Rules and Practice Directions will mean a more streamlined civil justice process, and will improve the effectiveness of the court process for litigants. 

"The Royal Court has made it clear that it will be enforcing compliance with the rules, practice directions and orders going forward and that there may be sanctions for those who fail to comply without a reasonable excuse."