About us
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee was set up under the Civil Procedure Act 1997 to make rules of court for the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal, the High Court and the County Court. The Civil Procedure Rules set out the practice and procedure to be followed.
Alternative Dispute Resolution consultation
Your views are being sought on the proposed draft amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR).
The consultation material comprises: The work flows from the Court of Appeal judgment in James Churchill v Merthyr Tydfil Borough Council.
If you wish to submit comments, you should send your response (in Word or PDF form) by 28 May 2024 to CPRCconsultation@justice.gov.uk
Please state “ADR Consultation” in the subject line of your email.
Court Documents Consultation
Access to Court Documents by Non-Parties: proposed new CPR 5.4C
Your views are being sought on the proposed draft amendments to Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) rule 5.4C (supply of documents to a non-party from court records). The proposed reforms flow from the UK Supreme Court judgment in Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd -v- Dring [2019] UKSC 38.
The consultation material comprises:
If you wish to submit comments, you should send your response (in Word or PDF form) by 8 April 2024 to CPRCconsultation@justice.gov.uk
Please state “Court Documents Consultation” in the subject line of your email.
Enforcement of Judgments in Different Jurisdictions (Hague 19 and Hague 05) Consultation: proposed amendments to CPR Part 74 and PD 74A
Your views are being sought on the proposed draft amendments to Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) Part 74 and PD 74A, arising from the CPR Committee’s consideration of the implementing framework to facilitate the operation of the Hague Convention 2019 (on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters) and Hague Convention 2005 (on Choice of Court Agreements).
The consultation material comprises:
- Proposed drafting (and )
If you wish to submit comments, you should send your response (in Word or PDF form) by 13 March 2024 to PIL@justice.gov.uk
Please state “CPRC Hague consultation” in the subject line of your email
Fixed Recoverable Costs consultation (Summer 2023) response
The official response can be read for the . It sets out the way forward, following the public consultation in July 2023, on the issues under consultation as well as various wider FRC issues raised by stakeholders. The consultation was held as part of the process of finalising the new Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), which can be read on the Legislation website. The original consultation document can be read here:
The Ministry of Justice thanks those who provided their views as part of the consultation.
CPR Part 25 (Interim Remedies and Security for Costs) including a proposed amendment to CPR Part 4 (Forms) consultation
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
In 2021, the CPRC commenced a new project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997. The work is being conducted by a sub-committee which is approaching its task in a phased way. In doing so, the CPRC resolved to commence a rolling programme of consultation whereby drafting proposals are published for comment before changes are introduced. It is important to note that proposed changes to the CPR will be focused on drafting amendments and not substantive changes. Some proposals may relocate or dispense with provisions altogether.
You can read more on the sub-committee’s outline programme in the CPRC Minutes (in particular those of the 11 June 2021) (and 6 October 2023) on GOV.UK.
The intention is to publish both tracked change (showing the proposed revisions) and clean versions for consultation and, unless specified otherwise, to allow six weeks (excluding August) for comments to be submitted; after which the sub-committee will review the responses and report back to the full CPRC for further determination.
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by the published deadline to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk. Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses.
The first set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concerned CPR Part 10 (Acknowledgment of Service) and Part 12 (Default Judgment) and that exercise closed on 12 November 2021 and amendments reflected in the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2022 & 140th Practice Direction Update. The next set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concerned CPR Part 2 (Application and Interpretation of the Rules), Part 3 (the Court’s Case Management Powers), and Part 4 (Forms) and that exercise closed on 11 February 2022; this was followed by respective consultations on: CPR Part 14 (Admissions), Part 15 (Defence and Reply), and Part 16 (Statements of Case), which closed on 2 May 2022; CPR Part 49 (Specialist Proceedings) on which comments were invited by 23 May 2022; some of these amendments were reflected in the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2022 & the 149th PD Update.
This Update cycle was followed by consultations on CPR Part 17 (Amendments to Statement of Case) & 38 (Discontinuance), which closed on 21 June 2022, CPR Part 19 (Parties and Group Litigation), which closed on 5 July, CPR Part 20 (Counter Claims and Other Additional Claims), which closed on 23 September and CPR Part 21 (Children and Protected Parties) which closed on 24 November. Part 22 (Statements of Truth) and Part 23 (General Rules about Applications for Court Orders) which closed on 24 February 2023 andthe consultation on Part 24 (Summary Judgment) closed on 28 April. Amendments to Parts 17,19, 20 and 38 were made via the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 & the153rd PD Update. Amendments to Parts 21, 23 and 24 were reflected in the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2023 & the 157th/158th PD Updates.
Thank you to everyone who submitted responses. You can follow progress through the CPRC Minutes and subsequent CPR Updates.
The current set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concern the following:CPR Part 25 (Interim Remedies and Security for Costs) including a proposed amendment to CPR Part 4 (Forms)
CPR Part 25 is currently supplemented by two PDs. Under the reforms, the PDs are, in effect, dispensed with. Due to the extent of the proposed revisions to Part 25, the draft amendments are presented for consultation in clean copy version only. However, a destination table is also provided. The proposed revision to Part 4 is presented in the traditional tracked change style.
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by 9 February 2024 to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk.
Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses and please state “Part 25” within the subject heading of your email.
Vulnerability consultation response
The official response can be read in the . It sets out the way forward, following the public consultation in May 2022, on the way vulnerability is addressed in the extended FRC regime. The consultation was held as part of the process of finalising the new Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), which can be read on the Legislation website. The Ministry of Justice thanks those who provided their views as part of the consultation.
Implementation of the extended fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime: October 2023
This is further to the bulletin in 2022. At the Civil Procedure Rule Committee’s (CPRC) meeting on 31 March 2023, the draft amendments required for the implementation of the extended FRC regime were approved in principle. The papers provided below set out the amendments in draft (to Part 26 and PD 26, Part 28 and PD 28, Part 36, Part 45 and PD45) and are subject to formal ratification by the CPRC and the Master of the Rolls, as Head of Civil Justice, as appropriate, to be followed by ministerial concurrence and approval by Parliament. An accompanying note is also provided to give further information about the FRC reforms as approved in draft, particularly insofar as there have been developments since the MOJ consultation response, published in September 2021. The final suite of amendments are due to be published, in the usual way, in late May. The intended in-force date is 1 October 2023.
These papers are published in draft now so that stakeholders have advance notice and more time to familiarise themselves with the new regime; but the provisions remain in draft until formally approved.
CPR Part 24 (Summary Judgment)
The Civil Procedure Rule Committee (CPRC) is seeking your views.
Earlier in 2021, the CPRC commenced a new project to try to simplify the rules; this being a statutory duty under s.2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997. The work is being conducted by a sub-committee chaired by Mr Justice Kerr which is approaching its task in a phased way over the next 12-24 months. In doing so, the CPRC has resolved to commence a rolling programme of consultation whereby drafting proposals are published for comment before changes are introduced. It is important to note that proposed changes to the CPR will be focused on drafting amendments and not substantive changes. Some proposals may relocate or dispense with provisions altogether.
You can read more on the sub-committee’s outline programme in the CPRC Minutes (in particular those of the 11 June 2021) on GOV.UK.
The intention is to publish both tracked change (showing the proposed revisions) and clean versions for consultation and, unless specified otherwise, to allow six weeks (excluding August) for comments to be submitted; after which the sub-committee will review the responses and report back to the full CPRC for further determination.
If you wish to comment on the proposed changes, you should submit your comments by the published deadline to: CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk. Please do not copy your responses to other email addresses.
The first set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concerned CPR Part 10 (Acknowledgment of Service) and Part 12 (Default Judgment) and that exercise closed on 12 November 2021 and amendments reflected in the Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2022 & 140th Practice Direction Update. The next set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concerned CPR Part 2 (Application and Interpretation of the Rules), Part 3 (the Court’s Case Management Powers), and Part 4 (Forms) and that exercise closed on 11 February 2022; this was followed by respective consultations on: CPR Part 14 (Admissions), Part 15 (Defence and Reply), and Part 16 (Statements of Case), which closed on 2 May 2022; CPR Part 49 (Specialist Proceedings) on which comments were invited by 23 May 2022; some of these amendments were reflected in the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.2) Rules 2022 & the 149th PD Update.
This Update cycle was followed by consultations on CPR Part 17 (Amendments to Statement of Case) & 38 (Discontinuance), which closed on 21 June 2022, CPR Part 19 (Parties and Group Litigation), which closed on 5 July, CPR Part 20 (Counter Claims and Other Additional Claims), which closed on 23 September and CPR Part 21 (Children and Protected Parties), which closed on 24 November. Some of these amendments are due to be reflected in the next mainstream CPR Update
Thank you to everyone who submitted responses. You can follow progress through the CPRC Minutes and subsequent CPR Updates.
The current set of proposed reforms being published for consultation concern the following:
CPR Part 24 (Summary Judgment)
Please submit any comments to CPRCRollingConsultations@justice.gov.uk by 28 April 2023.
Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting (QOCS) Consultation Response
The official response can be read in the . It sets out the way forward, following the public consultation in May 2022, on the changes to the QOCS regime in personal injury cases. The consultation was held as part of the process of finalising the Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) amendments concerning QOCS, which can be seen here: The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2023 (legislation.gov.uk). The Ministry of Justice thanks those who provided their views as part of the consultation.
Our responsibilities
We’re responsible for:
- making and amending the Civil Procedure Rules
- simplifying the existing rules
Our priorities
Our priorities are to:
- make the civil justice system accessible, fair and efficient
- ensure that the rules are simple and easy to understand
Membership
The rules of committee membership are set out in section 2 of the Civil Procedure Act 1997. The committee is chaired by the Master of the Rolls, Head of Civil Justice. All non-judicial members are appointed, in accordance with the Office of the Commission for Public Appointment’s Code of Practice.
Appointments
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Appointment of a High Court Judge Member to the Civil Procedure Rule Committee - 21 March 2024
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Appointment of a Welsh Judge Member to the Civil Procedure Rule Committee - Courts and Tribunals Judiciary - 22 March 2024
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Appointment of a Master Member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee - 27 February 2024
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Appointment of a District Judge Member to the Civil Procedure Rule Committee - 26 July 2023
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Reappointment of High Court Member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee - 26 July 2023
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Appointment of a District Judge member to the Civil Procedure Rule Committee - 9 February 2022
Members
- The Head of Civil Justice, Master of the Rolls, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Ex Officio
- The Rt Hon Lord Justice Birss, The Deputy Head of Civil Justice, Ex Officio
- The Hon Mr Justice Pepperall, High Court Judge Member
- The Hon Mr Justice Trower, High Court Judge Member
- Master Sullivan, High Court Master Member
- His Honour Judge Bird, Circuit Judge Member
- His Honour Judge Hywel James, Welsh Judge Member
- District Judge Clarke, District Judge Member
- District Judge Johnson, District Judge Member
- Dr Anja Lansbergen-Mills, Barrister Member
- Ms Isabel Hitching KC Barrister Member
- Mr Tom Montagu-Smith KC Barrister Member
- Mr David Marshall, Solicitor Member
- Vacancy, Solicitor Member
- Mr Ben Roe, Solicitor Member
- Mr Ian Curtis-Nye, Lay Advice/Consumer Affairs Member
- Ms Elisabetta Sciallis, Lay Advice/Consumer Affairs Member