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Explanatory note

Original text. Later amendments are not shown.

(This note is not part of the Rules)

These Rules amend the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (S.I. 1998/3132) by—

  • amending rule 3.4 (power to strike out a statement of case) to provide that a claimant’s statement of case may be struck out where it appears to the court that the statement of case is a “SLAPP (strategic litigation against public participation) claim” within the meaning of section 195 of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (c. 56) and the claimant has failed to show that it is more likely than not the claim would succeed at trial;

  • amending rule 4 (forms) to include reference to model orders, in consequence of references to be included in the revised version of Part 25.

  • amending rule 23.8 (applications which may be decided without a hearing), to remove a potential ambiguity in the drafting, so clarifying that the parties do not lose their right to make an application to set aside where they have previously been given an opportunity to make representations where the court is invited to proceed without a hearing;

  • replacing Part 25 (interim remedies and security for costs) with a revised Part 25, as part of the ongoing exercise of review of the Civil Procedure Rules and related practice directions with a view to streamlining and simplifying their content (in furtherance of the objective of Section 2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997), and making consequential amendments in Part 52 and Part 74;

  • amending rule 42.2 (change of solicitor – duty to give notice) to include reference to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c. 10) and to remove an unnecessary cross-reference;

  • amending rule 44.2 (court’s discretion as to costs) so that in respect of a “SLAPP claim”, the court may only order a defendant to pay a claimant’s costs where the defendant’s misconduct in relation to the claim justifies such an order;

  • amending rule 45.62 (soft tissue injury and whiplash injury claims) to increase the sums that are recoverable in respect of the cost of obtaining a fixed cost medical report and medical records;

  • amending rule 49.1 (practice directions for specific proceedings) so clarifying that a practice direction made under this rule may modify or disapply any provision in the Civil Procedure Rules in connection with the proceedings to which the practice direction applies;

  • amending rule 58.11 (case management) and rule 59.13 (case management), by including a cross-reference to rule 29.2(1A), to require the court to consider whether to order or encourage the parties to engage in alternative dispute resolution in claims in the Commercial Court and Circuit Commercial Courts respectively;

  • amending rule 65.45 (application to vary or discharge an injunction) so that an application under section 8 of the Anti-Social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 (c. 12) to vary or discharge an injunction may be made without notice, so as to be consistent with applications made under section 42(1) of the Policing and Crime Act 2009 (c. 26), to which rule 65.45 also applies;

  • amending Part 82 (closed material proceedings) by—

    • amending rule 82.5 (case management) to provide that, where in proceedings the court makes a declaration under section 6(2) of the Justice and Security Act 2013 (c. 18) permitting the making of closed material applications, the costs management provisions in Section II of Part 3 of the Rules shall not apply to those proceedings, and to further provide, first, that any costs management orders already made shall not apply to costs incurred after the declaration is made and, secondly, that the court may make any other order for costs incurred before the declaration is made that it considers appropriate; and

    • amending rule 82.23 (directions for hearing of application), to remove provisions which prevent a specially represented party and their legal representative from attending directions hearings in respect of, and the hearing of, an application for a declaration under section 6(2) of the 2013 Act, so permitting attendance at those hearings except as provided by rule 82.6 (hearings in private).