News

Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2021 & the 131st Practice Direction Update

The Statutory Instrument is being published via the Legislation website at: http://www.legislation.gov.uk. The on-line rules/web site will also be updated accordingly.

 Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2021 (enter into force no later than 31 May 2021).  The SI contains rule amendments in respect of:

  • Amendment to rule 6 of the Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2021 which amends rule 27.2, to correct a drafting error and some further grammatical amendments. (Coming into force on the 21st day after the day on which the Rules are laid before Parliament.)
  • Substitutes cross-references to “Practice Direction 27A” for cross-references to “Practice Direction 27” in CPR Part 27, in anticipation of the new PD27B ‘Claims Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents – Court Procedure’. (Coming into force on 31 May 2021.)

The 131st Practice Direction Update (coming into force variously from today, 05 May 2021 and 31 May 2021)

The Master of the Rolls and the Courts Minister have signed the PD Update.

A copy of the PD Update is viewable here: PD Update is viewable

The 131st PD Update provides amendments in two respects:

  • Standard Directions to form an appendix to PD27B ‘Claims Under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury Claims Below the Small Claims Limit in Road Traffic Accidents – Court Procedure’ (in substitution of Appendix B to PD27B in the Schedule to the 129th PD Update).
  • A suite of Practice Directions supplementing CPR Part 54 (Judicial Review) which have been revised in consequence of developments in caselaw and practice. CPR Part 54 is supplemented by four PDs (54A, 54C, 54D and 54E (PD 54B having previously been revoked)). The amendments provide for the addition of a new Practice Direction 54B to make provision in relation to urgent cases, and the revocation of PD 54C (which is now obsolete), with consequential renumbering of Practice Directions 54D and 54E as 54C and 54D, together with some modernisation and “tidying up” of drafting in what become 54C and 54D.  The main changes lie in a recasting of PD54A, prompted by concerns expressed by the Court of Appeal in a number of cases (most recently, R(Dolan and others) v Secretary of State for Health and Social Care [2020] EWCA Civ 1605, in particular at §§116 – 121) that pleadings and Skeleton Arguments in public law cases have become too lengthy and too complex.

Forms – The following forms have been either created or modified as part of this update:

  •  A revised suite of Judicial Review forms in consequence of the reformed PDs supplementing CPR Part 54 will be published online (gov.uk) in due course.