Civil Courts

The civil justice system was reformed in 1999 following the Woolf Report, Access to Justice (1996. These reforms attempt to simplify the procedure and terminology and speed the process of taking a civil case to law up. Parties to a civil case are now encouraged to follow a pre-action protocol. This is a list of things to be done, and information which should be given to the other side before courts proceedings are started. If the pre-action protocol is not followed then the party at fault may be liable for certain costs when the case comes before the court.

There are two courts of first instance which hear civil claims:

- County Court

- High Court

For cases where…