Lord Justice Jackson To Report On Fixed Costs

 

Lord Justice Jackson has been commissioned to undertake a review of fixed recoverable costs, to be completed by 31 July 2017. As we reported in edition 157 of BC Disease News, the Government confirmed in the consultation paper ‘Transforming Our Courts and Tribunals’ that:

 

‘We will look at options to extend fixed recoverable costs much more widely, so the costs of going to court will be clearer and more appropriate. Our aim is that losing parties should not be hit with disproportionately high legal costs, and people will be able to make more informed decisions on whether to take or defend legal action’.

 

It would seem that this review is a step towards this goal and an extension of LJ Jackson’s wider review of civil litigation procedures which led to the ‘Jackson Reforms’, in which he first recommended the application of fixed recoverable costs.

 

The terms of reference for the review are:

 

  1. To develop proposals for extending the present civil fixed recoverable costs regime in England and Wales so as to make the costs of going to court more certain, transparent and proportionate for litigants.
  2. To consider the types and areas of litigation in which such costs should be extended, and the value of claims to which such a regime should apply.
  3. To report to the Lord Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls by the 31st July 2017.

The review will start in January 2017 and will contain several recommendations which will then be considered by the Government in its public consultation on the proposed reforms which is due to take place after the review is published in July 2017.

LJ Jackson has been reported as saying:

 

‘Although the momentum is heavily for reform, the review will provide ample opportunity for comments and submissions on the form and scope that reform should take. I am inviting the views of practitioners, users of the civil courts and any other interested parties on these points. Seminars will be held in London and elsewhere to discuss the issues. There is a great deal to be done on the detail of the review, which will inform the Government as it prepares proposals for formal consultation in due course’.

 

The full announcement can be found here on the Judiciary website.