General Matters:

The Overriding Objective:

a) Ensure Party on Equal Footing;

b) Save Expense
c) Deal case in Proportionate Ways:
i. Amount of money involved
ii. Importance of Case
iii. Complexity of Issue
iv. Each Party Financial Position
d) Ensure case dealt with expeditiously and fairly
e) Allot appropriate share of court’s resources, taking into account need of allotting resources to
other cases.
f) Enforce compliance with Rule, PD and Orders.

Court Application of OO:

• Court must seek to give effect of OO

Parties ‘Duty:

• Parties required to help court further OO

Court Duty to Manage Cases:

• Court must further OO by ACTIVE CASE MANAGEMENT:

• List of ACTIVE CASE MANAGEMENT:
o Encourage parties to cooperate with each other in conduct of proceedings
o Identify issue at early stages
o Decide promptly which issue need full investigation & trial and accordingly dispose
summarily of others
o Decide order of which issue to resolve
o Encourage parties to use ADR if court consider it to be appropriate & facilitates use of
ADR
o Help parties settle whole/part of case
o Fix timetables or control progress of case.
o Consider whether likely benefits of a particulars step justify cost of taking it
o Deal with as many aspects of case as it can on same occasion
o Deal with case w/o parties need to attend court
o Make use of tech
o Give directions to ensure trial proceeds quickly and efficiently

How to start proceedings (Claim Form):

• Cases may be started in both County Court (CC) and High Court (HC), if the CC and HC have
jurisdiction to deal with the case
Where to Start Proceedings:

2.1 Proceedings may be started in HC if value of claim is over £100k. (over £100k may start in HC)

2.2 Claim for Damages for P.I: Can start in HC only if value is £50k or more (PI Claim cannot start in
HC if claim is below £50k)

2.3 Claim must start in CC or HC, if enactment requires.

2.4 Subject to 2.1 and 2.2, there is 4 factors to consider, SHOULD start claim in HC by reason of:

(1) Financial value of claim & amount in dispute; and/or

(2) Complexity of facts, legal issue, remedies & procedure involved; and/or

(3) Importance of outcome of claim to public

C believes claim ought to be dealt by HC Judge.

2.4A

(1) Claim in CC via Part 7 claim may be made at any CC Hearing Centre, unless enactment, rule
or PD states otherwise.

(2) If claim required to be made at a specific Hearing Centre, but is made at wrong Hearing
Centre, court office will send claim to correct Hearing Centre before claim is issued

(3) C should consider potential delay that may result if claim not made in correct hearing
centre.