CIVIL LITIGATION

There are five stages to civil litigation that are prescribed by Court Rules in England and Wales:-  

• 1.) Pre-action Protocol
  
  A party’s claim for a dispute must comply with CPR (Civil Procedure Rules). This includes sending a letter of claim to the other party or their representative and giving them a chance to respond. Parties should engage and make an effort to resolve the dispute without involving the Court, litigation is a last resort. If no resolution is reached then the claim must be issued at Court.  This is called the “Pre Litigation” stage.

• 2.) Issuing Proceedings
  
  The Claimant must issue a Claim Form which sets out their case and states the resolution they seek, such as compensation. Once this is issued by the Court, the Defendant or their representatives will have 14 days to file an Acknowledgement of Service and Defence, however, the Defendant and/or their Representatives can request an additional 28 days to file the same. The Court will then provide Directions which both parties must comply with.  

• 3.) Exchange of Evidence and Witness Statements
  
  This is usually a paper-based exercise and both parties must exchange their evidence that they wish to reply upon to support their claim and will have prepared documents and evidence for disclosure that is to be relied on at Trial. Each party will be required to exchange witness statements under the Directions Order set by the Court. This can also include the exchange of ‘expert evidence’ – unbiased evidence given by an expert in the dispute’s legal area. 

• 4.) Trial
  
  To ensure that both parties can attend the Trial, they should have provided dates which they cannot make so that the court chooses a day that works for both sides. During the Trial, the Court will witness evidence and hear legal submissions.

• 5.) Post-Trial
  
  After Judge has heard submissions by both parties Judgement is handed down and the Judge will make the parties aware of their decision. Once the Judges decision is given, the party that was not in favour will be ordered to fulfil any Judgement and award the winning party their legal costs. It is important to note that the losing party have 14 days to appeal any decision made by the Court that is not in their favour.