| 1.2 | The
Civil Procedure Rules:
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| 1.2.1 |
The
Overriding Objective set out in Part 1 of CPR is central to civil
proceedings and enables the court to deal with cases justly. To
further this aim the work is allocated to one of three tracks - the
small claims track, the fast track and the multi-track - so as to
dispose of the work in the most appropriate and effective way
combined with active case management by the court.
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| 1.2.2 |
The
CPR are divided into Parts. A particular Part is referred to in the
Guide as Part 7, etc., as the case may be. Any particular rule within
a Part is referred to as Rule 6.4(2), and so on.
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| 1.3 | The
Practice Directions:
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| 1.3.1 |
Each
Part - or almost each Part - has an accompanying Practice Direction
or Directions, and other Practice Directions deal with matters such
as the Pre-Action Protocols and some former Rules of the Supreme
Court and the County Court Rules, which are still applicable, and
scheduled to Part 50.
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| 1.3.2 |
The
Practice Directions are made pursuant to statute, and have the same authority as do the CPR themselves. However, in case of any conflict
between a Rule and a Practice Direction, the Rule will prevail. Each
Practice Direction is referred to in the Guide with the number of any
Part that it supplements preceding it; for example, the Practice
Directionpdp-06supplementing Part 6 is referred to as the Part 6 Practice
Direction. But where there is more than one Practice Direction
supplementing a Part it will also be described either by topic, for
example, Part 25 Practice Direction - Interim Payments, or where
appropriate, the Part 40B Practice Direction.
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| 1.5 | The
Queen's Bench Division:
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| 1.5.1 |
The
Queen's Bench Division is one of the three divisions of the High
Court, together with the Chancery Division and Family Division. A
Lord Justice of Appeal, currently Lord Justice Judge has been
appointed by the Lord Chief Justice to be the President of the
Queen's Bench Division and Lord Justice May has been appointed as
Vice-President; a High Court Judge is appointed as Judge in charge of
the Lists and is currently Mr Justice Eady.
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| 1.5.2 |
Outside
London, the work of the Queen's Bench Division is administered in
provincial offices known as District Registries. In London, the work
is administered in the Central Office at the Royal Courts of Justice.
The work in the Central Office of the Queen's Bench Division is the
responsibility of the Senior Master, acting under the authority of
the President of the Queen's Bench Division.
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| 1.5.3 |
The
work of the Queen's Bench Division is (with certain exceptions)
governed by the CPR. The Administrative Court, the Admiralty Court,
the Commercial Court and the Technology and Construction Court are
all part of the Queen's Bench Division. However, each does
specialised work requiring a distinct procedure that to some extent
modifies the CPR. For that reason each has an individual Part of the
CPR, its own Practice Direction and (except for the Administrative
Court) its own Guide, to which reference should be made by parties
wishing to proceed in the specialist courts.
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| 1.5.4 |
The
work of the Queen's Bench Division consists mainly of claims for;
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| (1) |
damages in respect of:
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| (a) |
personal injury,
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| (b) |
negligence,
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| (c) |
breach of contract,
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| (d) |
libel and slander (defamation),
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| (e) |
other tortious acts
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| (f) |
breach of statutory duty
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| | (2) |
non-payment of a debt, and
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| (3) |
possession of land or property.
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Proceedings
retained to be dealt with in the Central Office of the Queen's Bench
Division will almost invariably be multi-track claims.
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| 1.5.5 |
In
many types of claim - for example claims in respect of negligence by
solicitors, accountants, etc. or claims for possession of land - the
claimant has a choice whether to bring the claim in the Queen's Bench
Division or in the Chancery Division. However, there are certain
matters that may be brought only in the Queen's Bench Division,
namely:
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| (1) |
High Court Enforcement Officer's interpleader proceedings,
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| (2) |
applications for the enrolment of deeds,
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| (3) |
registration of foreign judgments under the Civil Jurisdictions and
Judgments Act 1982 or the European Regulation
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| (4) |
applications for bail in criminal proceedings,
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| (5) |
applications under the Administration of Justice Act 1920Acts and the
Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 and European
Regulations.
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| (6) |
registration and satisfaction of Bills of Sale,
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| (7) |
Election Petitions,
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| (8) |
applications for orders to obtain evidence for foreign courts.
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| 1.6 | The
Central Office:
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| 1.6.1 |
The
information in this and the following paragraph is to be found in the
Part 2 Practice Direction at paragraph 2; it is reproduced here for
the convenience of litigants. The Central Office is open for business
from 10 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. on every day of the year except;
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| (1) |
Saturdays and Sundays,
| | (2) |
Good Friday and the day after Easter Monday,
| | (3) |
Christmas Day and Boxing Day and, if these days are a Friday or
Saturday, the Bank Holidays allotted in their place, then 28th
December,
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Bank Holidays in England and Wales (under the Banking and Financial
Dealings Act 1971), and
| | (5) |
such other days as the Lord Chancellor, with the concurrence or the
Lord Chief Justice, the Master of the Rolls, the President of the
Family Division and the Chancellor, may direct.
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| 1.6.2 |
One
of the Masters of the Queen's Bench Division is present on every
day on which the Central Office is open for the purpose of
superintending the business administered there and giving any
directions that may be required on questions of practice and
procedure. S/he is normally referred to as the "Practice
Master". (See paragraph 6.1 below for information about the
Practice Master and Masters in general.)
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| 1.6.3 |
The
Central Office consists of the Action Department, the Masters'
Support Unit, the Foreign Process Section, the Masters' Secretary's
Department, the Queen's Bench Associates' Department, the Clerk
of the Lists, the Registry of the Technology and Construction Court
and the Admiralty and Commercial Registry.
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| 1.6.4 |
The
Action Department deals with the issue of claims, responses to
claims, admissions, undefended and summary judgments, enforcement,
drawing up certain orders, public searches, provision of copies of
court documents, enrolment of deeds and registration of foreign
judgments.
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| 1.6.5 |
The
Masters' Secretary's Department covers three discrete areas of
work;
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| (1) |
the Masters' Support Unit, which provides support (a) to the
Masters, including assisting with case-management, and (b) to the
Senior Master,
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| (2) |
Foreign Process, and
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| (3) |
Investment of Children's Funds.
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Also
one of the staff acts as the Chief Clerk to the Prescribed Officer
for Election Petitions (the Senior Master).
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| 1.6.6 |
The
Queen's Bench Associates sit in court with the Judges during trials
and certain interim hearings. The Chief Associate manages the Queen's
Bench Associates and also provides support to the Senior Master as
the Queen's Remembrancer. The Associates draw up the orders made in
court at trial and those interim orders that the parties do not wish
to draw up themselves, or directed by a Master to be drawn by the
Court.
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| 1.6.7 |
The
Clerk of the Lists lists all trials and matters before the Judges
(see Section 8 below).
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| 1.6.8 |
The
Technology and Construction Court deals with claims which involve
issues or questions which are technically complex or for which a
trial by a Judge of that court is for any other reason desirable (see
the Part 49C Practice Direction - Technology and Construction Court).
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| 1.6.9 |
The
Admiralty and Commercial Court deals mainly with shipping collision
claims and claims concerning charters and insurance and commercial
arbitrations. See the Commercial Court Guide and the Part 49D
Practice Direction --- Commercial Court, the Part 49F Practice
Direction - Admiralty and the Part 49G Practice Direction ---
Arbitrations.
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