Paper

Lord Woolf, Master of the Rolls, today published his final report to the Lord Chancellor on access to civil justice. Lord Woolf said it will create a new landscape for civil justice.

A draft of new Civil Proceedings Rules is also published with the final report. "These will harmonise and simplify procedures for all High Court and county court cases and replace the two separate rule books for the Supreme Court and county courts," Lord Woolf said.

Publication of the report and draft rules completes the second, and final, stage of a two-year inquiry into civil justice.

Lord Woolf's interim report, published in June 1995, set out a blue print for change. It proposed a new system of case management by the courts to reduce costs and delay in civil litigation.

The final report builds on these proposals, and fills in details by:

setting out a detailed fast track procedure for cases up to £10,000, with a maximum timetable of 30 weeks

recommending guideline maximum legal costs at the top of the fast track of £2,500, excluding VAT and disbursements

proposing the use of pre-action protocols to encourage a more co- operative approach to dispute resolution and promote fair settlements, avoiding litigation wherever possible

and making detailed proposals to increase access to justice in key areas of litigation (medical negligence, housing, multi-party actions and judicial review).

Commenting on the work of his Inquiry, Lord Woolf said: "My primary concern has been to improve access to justice, in particular for individuals and small businesses. I believe the key to this is enabling people to resolve their disputes in a more co- operative and less confrontational way than our traditional litigation system allows.

"The Inquiry has paved the way for a more co-operative approach, by including both claimants' and defendants' representatives in the working groups which developed proposals on housing, medical negligence, fast track procedures, pre-action...