- Part 36 regime: an influential settlement weapon.
- Recent judgments: outlining the highly complex area for parties and their advisers.
The Pt 36 regime is arguably one of the most influential weapons in the Civil Procedure Rules’ (CPR) arsenal for encouraging settlement. It provides a statutory code of prescribed costs, damages and interest enhancements that essentially penalise parties who fail to accept a reasonable settlement offer.
The rules relating to Pt 36 offers are, however, very complex. There are various formal requirements for making an offer. Parties may inadvertently (and unknowingly) fail to make a compliant Pt 36 offer and cannot benefit from the enhanced costs consequences they had envisaged. Even where an offer is compliant, if it would be ‘unjust’ to award the prescribed benefits, the court can disapply them. The whole regime becomes a procedural minefield.
A series of recent judgments illustrates how difficult this area can be for parties and their advisers. The rules themselves must be viewed
