Judicial review costs budgets (plus general CPR rant)

Judicial review costs budgets (plus general CPR rant)

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Discussion

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

54 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
It is not like me to bang on about how crap the law is, but the CPR suck! 67 amendments in 15 years. 8 amendments last year alone. Harry Woolf, you are a total sweetie, but **** off, will ya?

I have an instructing solicitor who is sure that costs budgets now apply to judicial review claims, but Google as I might I cannot confirm this. I have even emailed HHJ Judge Brown QC the Costs Guru asking if he knows (lawyer asks Judge for legal advice - very bad form!).

Do any of my learned friends here know?

PS: My Pupilmaster told me that it is better to say "m'friend" than "m'learned friend", because then you are only lying once!

3Dee

3,206 posts

221 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
How very 'sideways' of you Breaders!

..and how was the 'tools-down' protest for you today?

tongue out

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

54 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
I don't do crime or legal aid so I wasn't involved, but I sympathise with the legal aid lawyers. They are getting the shaft, and the net outcome may well be that the public gets the shaft too. This is much discussed in one thread here and one thread in NPE (with bonus Hitler gags).

3Dee

3,206 posts

221 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
If I want to thoroughly depress myself, on the way to work I turn on the radio...

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

54 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
What I know about judicial review claims stops at how to spell "judicial review". With that health warning in situ...

3.12 provides that budgeting applies to multi-track claims, and they aren't multi-track claims, are they? A defendant files a response, rather than a defence, so Pt 26.3 (by which the court provisionally allocates to a track) doesn't bite (and coincidentally you wouldn't know what date by which to serve it).

I think.

Do you have a CMC in a JR claim? If not, then there's no fall back date for filing under 3.13 either.

There's also this article: http://www.hardwicke.co.uk/insights/articles/costs... which suggests it is recognised as being up in the air.

However, the real test of nerve is this: do you *really* want to risk not filing one? heheh!


anonymous-user

Original Poster:

54 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
Yep, but reading the "kill the poor" ranting in NPE is a pretty good downer too.

Here's our esteemed Minister of Justice at a Cabinet Meeting, announcing some policy changes:-

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PQ6335puOc

10 Pence Short

32,880 posts

217 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
My understanding is that cost budgeting does not apply to a JR. Of course, if it does, the professional thing to do would be to advise the client to drop his representation altogether, as it doesn't apply to LiPs. HTH etc.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

54 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
The current version of the rules does not apply the budget system to JR, for the reasons noted above. It was said that the rules committee was looking at this last October. As far as I can tell, the new regime still does not apply to JR.

princeperch

7,922 posts

247 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
If you still haven't had an answer to this I'm pretty sure I know the person to ask tomorrow who will know..

carinaman

21,274 posts

172 months

Monday 6th January 2014
quotequote all
10 Pence Short said:
My understanding is that cost budgeting does not apply to a JR.
Could I have a brief explanation in layman's terms please? I know JR isn't a Merc. driving Texan.

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

54 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
JR - Judicial review of administrative action. We are talking about claims in the Administrative Court (a division of the High Court) that seek to challenge a decision made by a public body. This is how the law keeps in check unlawful actions by the Government, local authorities, regulators, quangos and so forth. All Governments hate it, and the current Government seeks to curtail it, but that is another subject.

Judicial review is not an appeal system. The claimant has to obtain permission from the court to make the challenge, and must show that the decision complained of was unlawful, unfair or irrational.

Civil litigation in general is subject to a new and quite robust costs management regime, and the parties have to file statements of costs incurred and expected to be incurred early in the proceedings. This far, judicial review claims have not been subject to this regime.

The new costs budget regime is sensible, IMO. We civil practitioners have been running up silly bills for a while.

10 Pence Short

32,880 posts

217 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
JR = Judicial Review. A civil action, usually in the High Court, to challenge a decision made by a public body (such as a local authority).

Costs Budgeting = A new regime introduced to higher value civil claims, in which lawyers for both sides must share and lodge with the court an accurate estimate of costs for the case prior to trial, and update if things change.

carinaman

21,274 posts

172 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
Thank you 10 Pence Short and Breadvan 72. Most helpful. smile

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

54 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
You're welcome. JR is great fun for lawyers because it raises constitutional issues and the relationship between law and policy. The cases rarely involve oral evidence (good! rule one is - call no witnesses, as your own witnesses always shaft you!). JR pays a lot better than crime or family work but a lot less well than commercial work. It's my main area of practice (otherwise I do employment, sports, media and general commercial tarting). My other work pays the bills, but JR is what gets me out of bed.

10 Pence Short

32,880 posts

217 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
If legal aid is still available for JRs, I may have an interesting one for you involving a local authority refusing to investigate a councillor accused of providing a false register of interests and failing to update it as per legislation (Localism Act).

anonymous-user

Original Poster:

54 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
Cheers. Legal aid may be available, but not much! If the case is meritorious, I might consider a CFA. I don't do those ordinarily, but regard them as a form of pro bono in apt cases.

princeperch

7,922 posts

247 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
the short answer is no it doesnt apply and if the administrative court have anything to do with it, it probably never will. I should add that most of the cases (I used) to deal with are now dealt with in the tribunal anyway and not the admin court so the procedures dont apply there anyway (thankfully I dont deal with JRs anymore!)

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Document...

this also makes interesting (if scary for those that do proper litigation) reading


anonymous-user

Original Poster:

54 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
A Warning to the Curious.

No, not M R James, but this.

Following on from Mitchell etc, a law firm files a CMC checklist and on the same day posts a cheque for the court fee. The directions order said checklist and payment by 4pm 19 December. Checklist filed at 3pm, cheque lost in Xmas post or buried on desk of court officer. 200K claim struck out by DJ this morning (I wasn’t there, but have just had a somewhat agitated sol on the phone).


Application for relief from sanctions, er, in the post.


Muncher

12,219 posts

249 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
princeperch said:
the short answer is no it doesnt apply and if the administrative court have anything to do with it, it probably never will. I should add that most of the cases (I used) to deal with are now dealt with in the tribunal anyway and not the admin court so the procedures dont apply there anyway (thankfully I dont deal with JRs anymore!)

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Document...

this also makes interesting (if scary for those that do proper litigation) reading
What do you specialise in now?

princeperch

7,922 posts

247 months

Tuesday 7th January 2014
quotequote all
Muncher said:
princeperch said:
the short answer is no it doesnt apply and if the administrative court have anything to do with it, it probably never will. I should add that most of the cases (I used) to deal with are now dealt with in the tribunal anyway and not the admin court so the procedures dont apply there anyway (thankfully I dont deal with JRs anymore!)

http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Document...

this also makes interesting (if scary for those that do proper litigation) reading
What do you specialise in now?
rather not say on an open forum (I'll drop you a mail)