View source for Civil Procedure Rules

{{Short description|Rules of civil procedure in English and Welsh courts}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}}
{{Infobox UK legislation
|short_title = Civil Procedure Rules 1998
|status=amended
|repealing_legislation= 
|commencement={{Start date|1999|04|24|df=y}}
|repeal_date =
|type=Statutory Instrument
|year=1998
|citation=[[SI 1998]]/3132 (L. 17)
|introduced_by=
|territorial_extent=[[England and Wales]]
|replaces=
|eu_directives=
|amendments=
|si_made_date=10 December 1998
|si_laid_date=17 December 1998
|amends=
|original_text=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/3132/contents/made
|revised_text= 
|use_new_UK-LEG=yes
|UK-LEG_title= 
|collapsed= 
}}
The '''Civil Procedure Rules''' ('''CPR''') were introduced in 1997 as per the Civil Procedure Act 1997<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/12/contents| title = Civil Procedure Act 1997}}</ref> by the [[Civil Procedure Rule Committee]] and are the rules of [[English civil procedure|civil procedure]] used by the [[Court of Appeal]], [[High Court of Justice]], and [[County Court (England and Wales)|County Court]] in [[Civil law (common law)|civil cases]] in [[England and Wales]]. They apply to all cases commenced after 26 April 1999, and largely replace the [[Rules of the Supreme Court]] and the County Court Rules. The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 is the statutory instrument listing the rules.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/3132/contents/made?text=service%20address#match-1| title = The Civil Procedure Rules 1998}}</ref>

The CPR were designed to improve access to justice by making [[legal proceeding]]s cheaper, quicker, and easier to understand for non-lawyers. As a consequence of this, many former, older legal terms were replaced with "plain English" equivalents, such as "claimant" for "plaintiff" and "witness summons" for "subpoena".

Unlike the previous rules of [[civil procedure]], the CPR commence with a statement of their "overriding objective", both to aid in the application of specific provisions and to guide behaviour where no specific rule applies.

==History==
In 1994, the [[Lord Chancellor]] instructed the then [[Master of the Rolls]], [[Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf|Lord Woolf]], to report on options to consolidate the existing rules of civil procedure.

On 16 June 1995, Lord Woolf published an interim report on ''Access to Justice''.<ref>The Right Honourable the Lord Woolf, Master of the Rolls, ''Access to Justice: Interim Report to the Lord Chancellor on the Civil Justice System in England and Wales'' (Lord Chancellors Dept 1995).</ref> The interim report was the subject of extensive academic commentary. For example, American law professor Richard Marcus Jr. pointed out that the interim report was clearly inspired by the experience of the [[Federal judiciary of the United States|US federal courts]] with case management, which grew out of their experience with managing complex litigation. During the 1960s, a massive [[United States antitrust law|antitrust]] scandal in the American electrical equipment industry had led to the enactment of a [[multidistrict litigation]] statute in 1968 and the creation of the [[Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation]]. In 1969, the Panel published the ''Manual on Complex Litigation'', which proposed that American judges should take a more active role in the management and development of complex cases during the pretrial phase of litigation. This recommendation touched off the case management movement of the 1970s and 1980s in American courts.<ref name="Marcus">{{cite book |last1=Marcus Jr. |first1=Richard L. |editor1-last=Zuckerman |editor1-first=A. A. S. |editor2-last=Cranston |editor2-first=Ross |title=Reform of Civil Procedure: Essays on 'Access to Justice' |date=1995 |publisher=Clarendon Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780198260936 |pages=219–244 |chapter=Déjà Vu All Over Again? An American Reaction to the Woolf Report}}</ref>

On 26 July 1996, Lord Woolf published his final ''Access to Justice Report 1996''<ref>The Right Honourable the Lord Woolf, Master of the Rolls, ''Final Report to the Lord Chancellor on the Civil Justice System in England and Wales'' (HMSO 1996).</ref> in which he "identified a number of principles the civil justice system should meet to ensure access to justice. The system should –{{ordered list|type=lower-alpha
| be ''just'' in the results it delivers;
| be ''fair'' in the way it treats litigants;
| offer appropriate procedures at a reasonable ''cost'';
| deal with cases with reasonable ''speed'';
| be ''understandable'' to those who use it;
| be ''responsive'' to the needs of those who use it;
| provide as much ''certainty'' as the nature of particular cases allows; and
| be ''effective'': adequately resourced and organised".<ref>Lord Woolf, ''Access to Justice Report 1996'', Section I: Overview, Paragraph 1</ref> (Italics in the original.)}}

Lord Woolf listed two of the requirements of case management as "fixing timetables for the parties to take particular steps in the case; and limiting disclosure and expert evidence".<ref>''Access to Justice Report 1996'', Woolf, ''Section II: Case Management, Chapter 1, Paragraph 4''</ref>

The second thread of the report was to control the cost of litigation, both in time and money, by focusing on key issues rather than every possible issue<ref>''Access to Justice Report 1996'', Woolf, ''Section II: Case Management, Chapter 1, Paragraph 3''</ref> and limiting the amount of work that has to be done on the case.<ref>''Access to Justice Report 1996'', Woolf, ''Section II: Case Management, Chapter 2 Fast Track: General, Paragraph 23''</ref>

The report was accompanied by draft rules of practice designed to implement Lord Woolf's proposals. These rules granted wide management powers to the court,<ref>''Access to Justice Report 1996'', Woolf, ''Section II: Case Management, Chapter 1, Paragraph 1''</ref> proposed that cases be allocated to one of three tracks depending on their nature, limiting or requiring specific actions, and introduced the concept of proportionality to the costs regime.

{{Infobox UK legislation
| short_title           = Civil Procedure Act 1997
| type                  = Act
| parliament            = Parliament of the United Kingdom
| long_title            = An Act to amend the law about civil procedure in England and Wales; and for connected purposes.
| year                  = 1997
| citation              = [[List of acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1997|1997]] c. 12
| introduced_commons    = 
| introduced_lords      = 
| territorial_extent    = England and Wales
| royal_assent          = 27 February 1997
| commencement          = 
| expiry_date           = 
| repeal_date           = 
| amends                = {{ubli|[[Senior Courts Act 1981]]|[[County Courts Act 1984]]|[[Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984]]|[[Courts and Legal Services Act 1990]]}}
| replaces              = 
| amendments            = [[Constitutional Reform Act 2005]]
| repealing_legislation = 
| related_legislation   = 
| status                = amended
| legislation_history   = 
| theyworkforyou        = 
| millbankhansard       = 
| original_text         = https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/12/enacted
| revised_text          = 
| use_new_UK-LEG        = yes
| UK-LEG_title          = Civil Procedure Act 1997
| collapsed             = 
}}
The Civil Procedure Act 1997<!--link redirects here--> (c. 12) was enacted on 27 February 1997. It conferred the power to make civil procedure rules. It also established the [[Civil Justice Council]], a body composed of members of the judiciary, members of the legal professions and civil servants, and charged with reviewing the civil justice system.

The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (SI 1998/3132) were made on 10 December 1998 and came into force on 26 April 1999. The draft rules of practice formed their core.

==Contents==
===The overriding objective ===
Implemented as a result of reforms suggested by [[Lord Woolf]] and his committee, one of the innovations of the rules is the "overriding objective" embodied in Part 1 of the Rules, which states:

{{blockquote|{{unbulleted list|1.1{{unbulleted list|item_style=margin-left: 1.5em; text-indent:-1.5em
|(1) These Rules are a new procedural code with the overriding objective of enabling the court to deal with cases justly and at proportionate cost.
|(2) Dealing with a case justly includes, so far as is practicable&nbsp;–{{unbulleted list|item_style=margin-left: 1.5em; text-indent:-1.5em
|(a) ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing;
|(b) saving expense;
|(c) dealing with the case in ways which are proportionate –{{unbulleted list|item_style=margin-left: 1.5em; text-indent:-1.5em
|(i) to the amount of money involved;
|(ii) to the importance of the case;
|(iii) to the complexity of the issues; and
|(iv) to the financial position of each party;}}
|(d) ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously and fairly; and
|(e) allotting to it an appropriate share of the court’s resources, while taking into account the need to allot resources to other cases.}}}}
|1.2{{unbulleted list
|The court must seek to give effect to the overriding objective when it&nbsp;–{{unordered list|item_style=margin-left: 1.5em; text-indent:-1.5em
|(a) exercises any power given to it by the Rules; or
|(b) interprets any rule.}}}}}}}}

The rules are written to be intelligible not just to lawyers but also to [[litigant in person|litigants in person]].

===Part 6: service of documents===
Part 6 identifies the valid ways in which legal documents in general, and specifically a [[claim form]], may be served. Personal service to an individual or to an organisation involves giving the document to the individual, to "a person holding a senior position within the [[company]] or corporation" or, in the case of a in a business [[partnership]], to one of the partners or to a person who exercises "control or management" of the partnership at its principal place of business.<ref>UK Legislation, [https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/3132/part/6 The Civil Procedure Rules 1998], Part 6, accessed on 21 March 2025</ref>

===Part 7: service of a claim form===
Proceedings are started when the court issues a claim form at the request of the claimant (CPR 7.2). Service of a claim form must take place within four months of the date when the claim form is issued, or within six months if it is to be issued outside the jurisdiction of the court,<ref>UK Legislation, [https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part07#7.5 The Civil Procedure Rules 1998], Part 7.5, accessed on 15 May 2025</ref> i.e. outside England and Wales and any part of the [[territorial waters]] of the United Kingdom adjoining England and Wales.<ref>UK Legislation, [https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/rules/part02#2.2 The Civil Procedure Rules 1998], Part 2.2: The glossary, accessed on 15 May 2025</ref>

===Assessing proportionality===
Two approaches to the assessment of proportionality arose in the case of ''West v [[Stockport NHS Foundation Trust]]'' (2019), in particular on appeal from the initial trial. The appeal judges referred to a "debate between the parties as to whether a proportionality challenge was limited to the circumstances of the particular case ('the narrower interpretation'), or whether it was to be assessed by reference to all the circumstances, and so encompass matters which were not necessarily related to the case in question ('the wider interpretation')". On a reading of CPR 44, which contains general rules about costs, it was felt to be clear that "questions of proportionality are to be considered by reference to the specific matters noted in 44.3(5) and, if relevant, any wider circumstances identified under r. 44.4(1). Accordingly, the wider interpretation is correct."<ref>{{cite BAILII |court=EWCA|division=Civ|year=2019|num=1220|litigants=West v Stockport NHS Foundation Trust|pinpoint=paragraphs 70 and 73|date=17 July 2019|access-date=8 March 2023}}</ref>

==Tracks==

===Small Claims Track===

Claims with a value of not more than £10,000 (the amount increased on 1 April 2013) are usually allocated to the Small Claims Track unless: the amount claimed for pain, suffering, and loss of amenity<ref>CPR 26.6(2)</ref> is more than £1,000.00;<ref>CPR 26.6(1)(a)</ref> or the cost of the repairs or other work to residential premises claimed against the landlord by a tenant is estimated to be more than £1,000 – whether or not they are also seeking another remedy – or the financial value of any claim in addition to those repairs is more than £1,000.<ref>CRP 26.6(1)(b)</ref>

A claim for a remedy for harassment or unlawful eviction relating to residential premises will not be allocated to the Small Claims Track even if it meets the financial limits.<ref>CPR 27.1(2)</ref>

===Fast Track===

Claims with a financial value of no more than £25,000 (£15,000 for claims issued before 6 April 2009) for which the Small Claims Track is not the normal track are usually allocated to the Fast Track<ref>CPR 26.6(4)</ref> unless: the trial is likely to last for more than one day;<ref>CPR 26.6(5)(a)</ref> oral expert evidence at trial will be in more than two fields; or there will be more than one expert per party in each field.<ref>CPR 26.6(5)(b)</ref>

===Multi Track===

Any case not allocated to either the Small Claims Track or the Fast Track is allocated to the Multi Track.<ref>CPR 26.6(6)</ref>

==Pre-action Protocols==

To support the ethos of narrowing the issues prior to the use of proceedings and encapsulate best practice, the CPR introduced "pre-action protocols". They are given force by ''Practice Direction – Protocols''

===Purpose===

Pre-action protocols outline the steps that parties should take in particular types of disputes to seek information from, and to provide information to, each other prior to making a legal claim.

Pre-action protocols, which entails setting out the claim in full to the defendant in an attempt to negotiate a settlement. The emphasis is placed on co-operation to identify the main issues. Failure to co-operate may lead cost penalties, regardless of the eventual outcomes of the case.

Paragraph 1 of the Practice Direction defines the purpose of pre-action protocols as:
* encouraging the early exchange of all information relating to the prospective legal claim
* aiding settlement of the claim without the commencement of proceedings
* producing a foundation for efficient case management where litigation cannot be avoided

===Current Pre-action Protocols===

{| class="wikitable"
! Protocol !! Publication !! Came into Force
|-
| align="left" | Construction and Engineering Disputes || align="right" | September 2000 || align="right" | 2 October 2000
|-
| align="left" | Defamation || align="right" | September 2000 || align="right" | 2 October 2000
|-
| align="left" | Disease and Illness Claims || align="right" | September 2003 || align="right" | 8 December 2003
|-
| align="left" | Disrepair Cases || align="right" | September 2003 || align="right" | 8 December 2003
|-
| align="left" | [[Judicial review|Judicial Review]] || align="right" | 3 December 2001 || align="right" | 4 March 2002<br />Amended 1 July 2013<ref>Ministry of Justice, [https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/civil/pdf/update/amendments-to-pap-on-judicial-review.pdf "63rd Update – Pre-action Protocol Amendments"], accessed 30 August 2022</ref>
|-
| align="left" | Personal Injury Claims || align="right" | January 1999 || align="right" | 26 April 1999
|-
| align="left" | Possession claims based on Rent Arrears || align="right" | September 2006 || align="right" | 2 October 2006
|-
| align="left" | Professional Negligence || align="right" | May 2001 || align="right" | 16 July 2001
|-
| align="left" | Resolution of Clinical Disputes<br /> (previously called Clinical Negligence) || align="right" | January 1999 || align="right" | 26 April 1999
|}
This list was last updated on 6 September 2007.

===Penalties===

Paragraph 2 indicates that the Court may add terms to any order if it feels a party has breached a protocol. These will place parties in the same position as if the breach had not occurred (or as close as possible).

The court may, amongst other remedies, order that the party in breach:
* pay some or all of the costs of another party
* pay costs to another party on an indemnity rather than standard basis
* pay a higher rate of interest on particular damages awarded, or for a particular period.
* forgo interest on a particular item of damages or for a period.

For instance, where a party commences proceedings prior to supplying important information to the other party(s) then the Court might disallow interest for the period prior to the information being provided.

In addition, the protocol might provide grounds to show a party had or had not behaved so unreasonably as to merit penalty under another Rule (for instance CPR 44.3).

===Cases not covered by a protocol===

Where no protocol has been published Paragraph 4 states that parties should conform to CPR 1 and the Overriding Objective.

It also sets out what would normally be considered reasonable behaviour prior to issue.

Where a case has been commenced prior to the protocol coming into force, but after publication the protocol is not binding. However, the degree to which a party has attempted to follow it anyway might be persuasive.

==Creation of the Rules==
Section 2 of the [[Civil Procedure Act 1997]] requires that the CPR are made by a committee called the Civil Procedure Rule Committee.<ref>{{cite web|title = Civil Procedure Act 1997, s. 2|url = http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1997/12/section/2}}</ref> Members of the committee consist of:

''[[Ex officio]]'':
* the [[Master of the Rolls]]/Head of Civil Justice
* the Deputy Head of Civil Justice (if there is one)

Those appointed by the [[Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales|Lord Chief Justice]]:
* either two or three judges of the [[Senior Courts of England and Wales|Senior Courts]]
* one [[Circuit judge (UK)|Circuit judge]]
* either one or two [[Judiciary of England and Wales#District judges|district judge]]s
* one person who is a [[Master (judiciary)|Master]] referred to in Part II of schedule 2 to the [[Senior Courts Act 1981]]

Those appointed by the [[Lord Chancellor]]:
* three persons who have a Supreme Court qualification (within the meaning of section 71 of the [[Courts and Legal Services Act 1990]] (CLSA)), including at least one with particular experience of practice in the [[County Court (England and Wales)|County Court]]
* Three persons who have been authorised by a relevant approved regulator to conduct litigation in relation to all proceedings in the Senior Courts, including at least one with particular experience of practice in the County Court
* two persons with experience in and knowledge of the lay advice sector or consumer affairs

The Lord Chancellor's appointments are made in consultation with the Lord Chief Justice and all authorised bodies which have members who are eligible for appointment.

===Rulemaking procedure===

Rules must be approved by at least eight members of the committee, and submitted to the Lord Chancellor who may allow or disallow them. Where he decides to disallow, he must express his reasons for doing so in writing.

== Changes to legal terminology ==

England and Wales began to diverge from the common law (and from other common law jurisdictions) with the [[Rules of the Supreme Court]] in 1883, which replaced the traditional "complaint" and "answer" with the "statement of claim" and "defence".

The CPR went much further by replacing several dozen traditional legal terms. For example, the "writ of summons" and the "statement of claim" were replaced, respectively, with "claim form" and "particulars of claim".

The CPR implemented a new system of radically different legal terminology in order to bring [[plain English]] to the legal system of England and Wales.<ref name="Garner_Page_950">{{cite book |last1=Garner |first1=Bryan A. |authorlink1=Bryan A. Garner |title=Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780195384208 |page=950 |edition=3rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O1m1bI5vCooC&pg=PA950 |access-date=19 November 2023}}</ref> This was intended to help laypersons comprehend legal terms more easily and to make the judicial process faster and less expensive.<ref name="Garner_Page_950" /> However, [[Bryan A. Garner]] has noted that the new system seems to have replaced "old jargon with new, even less-comprehensible jargon".<ref name="Garner_Page_951">{{cite book |last1=Garner |first1=Bryan A. |authorlink1=Bryan A. Garner |title=Garner's Dictionary of Legal Usage |date=2011 |publisher=Oxford University Press |location=Oxford |isbn=9780195384208 |page=951 |edition=3rd |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O1m1bI5vCooC&pg=PA951 |access-date=19 November 2023}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982]]
*[[Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf|Lord Woolf]]
*[[Practice Direction]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* Dwyer, D, ''The Civil Procedure Rules Ten Years On'', Oxford University Press (2009).

==External links==
*[https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/civil-procedure-rules-committee Civil Procedure Rules Committee official website]
*{{cite legislation UK |type=si |year=1998 |number=3132 |si=The Civil Procedure Rules 1998 |access-date=9 March 2023}}. To see the Rules as they are in force today, use the "Latest available (Revised)" button on the left.
*{{cite book
  | last = Keane
  | first = Adrian
  | title = The Modern Law of Evidence
  | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
  | year = 2008
  | location = [[Oxford]]
  | url = http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780199231669
  | isbn = 978-0-19-923166-9
}}
*{{cite book
  | last = Sime
  | first = Stuart
  | title = A Practical Approach to Civil Procedure
  | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
  | year = 2008
  | location = [[Oxford]]
  | url = http://www.oup.com/uk/catalogue/?ci=9780199542536
  | isbn = 978-0-19-954253-6}}

{{English law types}}

[[Category:Codes of civil procedure]]
[[Category:1998 in British law]]
[[Category:English civil law]]
[[Category:Statutory instruments of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:English civil procedure]]