New Civil Procedure Rules

The new Civil Procedure Rules introduced in April 1999 are arguably one of the most fundamental reforms of the UK's civil justice system. They are the result of Loud Woolfs wide-ranging inquiry into civil justice in England a nd Wales, which was highly critical of the time and expense involved in lit igation. Legal costs were frequently becoming disproportionate to the sums in dispute. The new rules are primarily geared towards cases brought by ind ividuals but could also make it more straight forward for businesses to res olve disputes with their clients and suppliers. This paper summarizes the k ey points of the new rules and comments on how they ave affecting the civil engineering industry.