Review of practice and procedure in the Chancery Division of the High Court: final report published

A review of current practices and procedures for the conduct of business in the Chancery Division, known as the "Chancery Modernisation Review", has been undertaken over the past year led by Lord Justice Briggs. The final report was published on Tuesday and puts forward more than 100 recommendations, many of which were foreshadowed in a provisional report published for consultation in July. The report has been welcomed by the Chancellor of the High Court, who commissioned the report. Steps will presumably now be taken toward implementing the recommendations, though the report notes that full implementation is dependent on improvements to IT provision which are currently being addressed by the courts service. Key recommendations include:

• Increased use of full docketing, i.e. case management and trial by the same judge.
• A move to fixed length trials.
• The strict focus of case management for trial upon the issues in the case.
• Convergence in practice and procedure between courts doing similar work.
• The provision of better access to justice for litigants in person.