The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has undermined the impact of Lord Justice Jackson’s report into civil litigation costs, a leading commentator claims.
Writing in NLJ, City Law School’s Professor Dominic Regan, who assisted Jackson LJ with the report, expresses dismay that the MoJ “failed to keep faith” when the report was supported by Lord Neuberger and the then Lord Chief Justice.
“The single most damaging reform, which has meant that the litigation process is now worse than before the 2013 changes, has been the outrageous hike in court fees,” he writes.
Regan further castigates the MoJ for refusing to amend the Damages Based Agreement Regulations despite “reasoned” suggestions from the judiciary. As for the fallout from the Mitchell case, this has been corrected to the point where “we are not that far removed from where we were pre-reform”—“blockbuster bundles, rambling witness statements and the like”.
