Jackson LJ has published the final report of his year-long review of civil litigation costs.
The report – the first ever fundamental review specifically focused on civil costs – sets out a package of interlocking reforms, which are designed to reduce litigation costs, promote access to justice and yield substantial savings in legal costs for the taxpayer.
The review was set up in late 2008 by the then Master of the Rolls, Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony, because the senior judiciary were concerned about the escalating costs of civil justice.
The final report covers 45 subject areas and runs to 557 pages, with recommendations across the entire spectrum of civil litigation, including housing claims and boundary disputes.
Key findings and recommendations include: success fees and after-the-event insurance premiums being irrecoverable in no-win no-fee cases; fixed costs to be set for fast track cases; a Costs Council to review fixed costs and lawyers’ hourly rates annually; and permitting contingency fee agreements, under which lawyers are paid only if a claim is successful.
Simon Twigden, head of litigation at Addleshaw Goddard, said: “The time for contingency fees in contentious matters in this jurisdiction is overdue.
“In the context of high-value commercial claims, with appropriate regulation and the retention of some form of cost shifting, such arrangements are easy to understand and permit an obvious alignment of interests between clients and lawyers.”
The Lord Chief Justice, Lord Judge, welcomed the report: “I am extremely grateful to Jackson LJ for the enormous work and effort that he has brought to bear on this important, complex issue and for proposals, which for the first time address the issue of costs as a comprehensive, coherent whole.”
The Master of the Rolls, Lord Neuberger, also called the report “a magnificent achievement”, saying that “the time for discussion and debate is over: it is now time for action. I hope that the Ministry of Justice will give these proposals the same enthusiastic and practical support that the judges will give them.”
The report is avaiable at the judiciary’s website.
