Guidance

Practice Direction update 107: Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019

Practice Direction update to the Civil Procedure Rules relating to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019.

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

Practice Direction update 107

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Details

These amendments to Practice Directions contained in the 107th Update to the Civil Procedure Rules provide for related No Deal EU Exit implications.

They will only come into force if and when the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (SI 2019/521) comes into force. The SI can can be viewed on legislation.gov.uk.

The update provides for amendments to remove provisions from Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) related Practice Directions which relate to powers, processes and orders under EU Instruments or Treaties which will no longer be applicable or available when those Instruments or Treaties are revoked by the EU Withdrawal Act or the Statutory Instruments (SI) made under it, or in some cases amend such provision where such Instruments are retained in an amended form.

These changes ensure relevant legislation that comes into force in a ‘no deal’ scenario will be given effect in the Practice Directions supplementing the CPR as well as in the CPR themselves. This in turn serves to ensure the practices and procedures which govern the operation of the civil courts remain effective and update to date.

The amendments also ensure there are appropriate transitional and saving provisions in the CPR for proceedings which commenced but not concluded under those Instruments, Conventions and provisions before exit day.

The PD Update amends a total of 15 Practice Directions. In summary they are:

  • PD 6A - Service within the United Kingdom
  • PD 6B - Service out of the Jurisdiction
  • PD 12 - Default Judgments
  • PD 31C - Disclosure and Inspection in relation to Competition Claims
  • PD 34A - Depositions and Court Attendance by Witnesses
  • PD 49A - Applications under the Companies Acts and related legislation
  • PD 51U - Disclosure Pilot for the Business and Property Courts
  • PD 52D - Statutory Appeals and Appeals subject to Special Provisions
  • PD 63A - Intellectual Property Claims
  • PD 68 - References to the European Court
  • PD 74A - Enforcement of Judgments in different jurisdictions
  • PD 74B - European Enforcement Orders
  • PD 78 - European Procedures
  • The Competition Law PD - Claims relating to the application of Articles 81 and 82 of the EC Treaty and Chapters I and II of Part I of Competition Act 1998
  • The Competition Act Warrants PD - Application for a Warrant under the Competition Act 1998

There are no new or amended forms associated with this update, although work is continuing as regards any Brexit-related implications on court forms.

Take notice and looking ahead

Please note that a series of further PD updates are anticipated, from now on, as and when additional functionalities and progressive adaptions are made to the Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) scheme. These bespoke PD updates will be issued outside the routine twice yearly SI and PD updates which cover changes across the CPR. Where the OCMC related modifications are significant, notice periods will be maximised wherever possible.

As previously advised, the CPRC Statutory Instrument (SI) 2019/342 is due to come into force on 6 April 2019. Some elements of the 104th PD update are related. The SI can be viewed on legislation.gov.uk.

The annual open meeting of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee is being planned for 10 May 2019 in London. Further communications and the process for expressing an interest in attending will be issued shortly.

Published 29 March 2019