Civil Procedure

Civil Justice Reform

This part of the Hong Kong judiciary website provides information on the Civil Justice Reforms that were introduced in 2009. The reforms apply to civil proceedings in the High Court and the District Court and were intended to improve procedures and reduce costs and delays. Amendments to primary and secondary legislation and practice directions relating to the Civil Justice Reforms are given and there is guidance aimed at the public and litigants in person including leaflets and videos.

Senior Courts Costs Office

Website of the Senior Courts Costs Office which is part of the High Court of Justice. The Office assesses the costs and expenses incurred in civil litigation and considers issues such as how much a client should pay their solicitor and how much a lawyer can recover from public funds. There is guidance on how the Office can get back legal costs, challenging a solicitor’s bill and how to get court costs assessed. There is also a link to decisions made by the Office on the Bailii website and daily cause lists.

Judicial Committee of the Privy Council

The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council is the highest court of appeal for the UK’s overseas territories and crown dependencies, and for certain Commonwealth countries. Its website provides a description of the Committee’s work, together with biographies of the justices, practice directions, rules and forms. Judgments are available from November 2009 onwards (earlier judgments are on the Privy Council Office website and BAILII) and summaries of pending cases are also provided.

Ministry of Justice: Procedure Rules

Collection of procedure rules for different types of litigation in England and Wales, provided by the UK Ministry of Justice. Consists of the Civil Procedure Rules, Criminal Procedure Rules, Family Procedure Rules and other rules that apply to the magistrates courts and Crown Court. Practice directions, court forms and court guides are also available.  

Civil Justice Council

The Civil Justice Council is a UK public body which was set up under the Civil Procedure Act 1997 to keep the civil justice system under review, to advise the government and to make research proposals. Its web pages provide information about CJC working parties and make available publications including responses to official consultations, research papers and annual reports.

Canadian Forum on Civil Justice

The Canadian Forum on Civil Justice is a non-profit organisation which aims to foster a fair, accessible and effective civil justice system. Its website has information about research programmes, including reports by the Forum's Action Committee. There is an inventory of civil justice reforms in Canada from 1950 onwards (with links to relevant documents), a blog, a bibliography (with links) called the 'Clearinghouse' and a newsletter. The site can be viewed in English or French.

Center for Legal Policy

The Center for Legal Policy (CLP) forms part of the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research, a think-tank based in New York. The CLP is concerned with reform of the US civil justice system and its work includes publishing books, papers and reports and hosting conferences, forums and seminars for lawyers and policy makers.

Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers

The Society of Messengers-at-Arms and Sheriff Officers is the professional body for process servers and officers of civil courts in Scotland. A messenger-at arms is an officer of the Scottish Court of session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; sheriff officers are commissioned officials of the regional civil courts and Sheriff courts in Scotland. The website has a brief history of the profession, notes on the Society's international affiliations, and list of members' services.

Judicial Greffe

Website for the States of Jersey Judicial Greffe, the government department responsible for providing "administrative and secretarial services to the Island's Courts" and delivering information services relating to the Courts to the legal profession and public. The site presents outline information on the role and work of each section comprising the Judicial Greffe, including the: Appellate section, Family section, Probate section, Public registry, and Samedi section, supported by online HTML versions of guidance notes issued by the department. Staff contact lists are also included.

Review of civil litigation costs

This section of the Judiciary website is devoted to official reviews of civil litigation costs, from Lord Justice Jackson's prelimary and final reports of 2009 and 2010 onwards. It provides background information about the reviews, the official reports on civil litigation costs, pilot studies, press releases, speeches, responses to consultations and related documents.
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