The Commercial Court has today published the report of its Long Trials Working Party set up under the chairmanship of Mr Justice Richard Aikens. The report was considered and adopted by the Commercial Court Judges and the Committee of Users of the Commercial Court at its meeting last Wednesday, 28 November 2007.
The Working Party was set up following criticisms arising from the BCCI/ Bank of England case and the Equitable Life case. A symposium was organised by the Commercial Court in October 2006 under the chairmanship of Mr Justice David Steel, Judge in Charge of the Commercial Court. Views were expressed before and at the symposium by client users of the Commercial Court, as well as by judges, barristers, solicitors and others. The Working Party was drawn from each of those groups and took into account all views expressed.
Mr Justice Richard Aikens said "recent cases have highlighted the need for the Commercial Court to look carefully at its procedures and large case management arrangements to ensure that they remain up to date and relevant for the business community that we serve. Many of our proposals have been designed specifically to ensure that cases remain manageable not just for judges but also, critically, for clients who rightly feel that aspects of the process of heavy and complex litigation have become too expensive and drawn out".
Key changes include limiting of the length of statements of case and the early creation of a judicially settled List of Issues which will take case management precedence over statements of case and which will be used to set the parameters for disclosure of documents and the content of witness statements and expert reports. The proposals aim at more structured and shorter trials in complex cases.
There are also proposals to encourage the greater use, in appropriate cases, of summary judgment and striking out procedures in the Commercial Court and to limit the length of written and oral arguments at trial.
Mr Justice David Steel said "The Working Party's proposals received unanimous support from the Commercial Court Users' Committee. All the Commercial Court Judges will be working hard to apply them for a trial period with effect from 1 February 2008 to 31 July 2008. Although we recognise that the full benefit of the new arrangements may take some time to come through in the longer cases for which they have been designed, the Commercial Court Judges will nonetheless be reviewing how the reforms have operated in the trial period. That should put us in the best possible position to make the necessary changes and refinements to the Commercial Court Guide in the run up to completion of the new custom-built accommodation for the Commercial Court in 2010."
Notes for editors:
- To read the full report, follow the related link below or to obtain a hard copy, contact Angela Hodgson, Clerk to the Commercial Court, on telephone 020 7947 7320 or email Angela Hodgson
- The BCCI/ Bank of England case and the Equitable Life case attracted criticism over duration and cost.
- The Commercial Court has the strongest of reputations worldwide for its ability to decide commercial cases expertly and fairly. It handles some of the most complex business cases in the world. In around 80% of cases brought before the Court, at least one of the parties is from outside the UK, thus underlining the role of the Court as an international commercial forum of choice.
- The Court was first established more than 100 years ago. The Admiralty and Commercial Court Guide plays a key part in the conduct of cases before the Court, and is regularly refined. Construction of new accommodation for the Court in Fetter Lane, London EC4, is currently in progress.
