Address to the Civil Court Users Association

Lord Justice Brooke reflected on the progress of civil justice from 1964, when he started practice at the Bar, to the present day. He started the address by giving a snapshot of the civil courts then and now.

I jump 42 years to the present day. The county court now has unlimited financial jurisdiction for most claims. The courts are financed differently. The partnership between litigants and the taxpayer was scrapped in 1992. Litigants now have to pay for everything, including the court buildings and the judges, unless they are on income support.