The Administration of Civil Justice in England and Wales provides information of how both criminal and civil law is administered. This book discusses the jurisdiction and composition of the country courts, civil work of the magistrates' courts, as well as of the High Court of Justice. Organized into 12 chapters, this book begins with an overview of the historical origins from which the modern courts have emerged. This text then explains the various strata of courts, namely country courts, magistrates' courts, the Court of Justice including its various divisions, and the appeal facilities that are available to litigants. Other chapters consider the different administrative tribunals and inquiries. The final chapter deals with the costs and the availability of legal aid and advice. This book is a valuable resource for readers who are interested in the administration of civil and criminal justice. Law students and newly qualified practitioners will also find this book useful.

John Sorabji examines the theoretical underpinnings of the Woolf and Jackson reforms to the English and Welsh civil justice system. He discusses how the Woolf reforms attempted, and failed, to effect a revolutionary change to the theory of justice that informed how the system operated. It elucidates the nature of those reforms, which through introducing proportionality via an explicit overriding objective into the Civil Procedure Rules, downgraded the court's historic commitment to achieving substantive justice or justice on the merits. In doing so, Woolf's new theory is compared with one developed by Bentham, while also exploring why a similarly fundamental reform carried out in the 1870s succeeded where Woolf's failed. It finally proposes an approach that could be taken by the courts following implementation of the Jackson reforms to ensure that they succeed in their aim of reducing litigation cost through properly implementing Woolf's new theory of justice.

In January 2009, the then Master of the Rolls, Sir Anthony Clarke, appointed Lord Justice Jackson to lead a fundamental review of the rules and principles governing the costs of civil litigation. This report intends to establish how the costs rules operate and how they impact on the behavior of both parties and lawyers.

"Effective policy-making in the administration of justice requires a solid understanding of public behaviour. This book presents the results of the most wide-ranging survey ever conducted by an independent body or government agency into the experiences of ordinary citizens as they grapple with the kinds of problems that could ultimately end in the civil courts. Funded by the Nuffield Foundation, the survey identifies how often people experience problems for which there might be a legal solution and how they set about solving them. Revealing crucial differences in the approach taken to different kinds of potential legal problems, the study describes the factors that influence decisions about whether and where to seek advice about problems, and whether and when to go to law. In addition to exploring experiences of courts, tribunals and ADR processes, the study also provides important insights into public confidence in the courts and the judiciary. For the first time the study reveals the public's perspective on access to civil justice and makes a significant contribution to debate about how far civil justice reforms coincide with public experience and expectations about resolving justiciable problems."--Back cover.

Civil law provides a framework within which people conduct their daily lives, and civil court cases often relate to problems that affect people's basic life opportunities and well-being. This is the 2nd edition of this publication which sets out the key findings of surveys conducted in England and Wales in 2001 and 2004, the most extensive of its kind so far, undertaken to examine people's experiences of civil law problems, including exploring social, economic and health consequences. Issues discussed include: the links between the civil justice system, crime and social exclusion, the relatively infrequent use of formal legal processes, and the obstacles that can prevent problems being resolved.

In safeguarding national security the Government produces and receives sensitive information. This information must be protected appropriately, as failure to do so may compromise investigations, endanger lives and ultimately lessen its ability to keep the country safe. The increased security and intelligence activity of recent years has led to greater scrutiny including in the civil courts, which have heard a growing numbers of cases challenging Government decisions and actions in the national security sphere. Such cases involve information that under current rules cannot be disclosed in a courtroom. The UK justice system is then either unable to pass judgment and cases collapse or are settled without a judge reaching any conclusions. This green paper aims to respond to the challenges of how sensitive information is treated in the full range of civil proceedings. It looks for solutions that improve the current arrangements while upholding the Government's commitment to the rule of law. It also addresses the need for public reassurance that the national security work is robustly scrutinised, and that the scrutinising bodies are credible and effective. The proposals in this consultation are in three broad areas: enhancing procedural fairness, safeguarding material and reform of intelligence oversight.