David Greene welcomes the government’s recent U-turn on upping civil court fees but fears the reprieve may be short-lived
2015 ended on a high note with a piece of good news from the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) telling us that the increase in the court fees cap that had been proposed is not to proceed for the time being. The government’s response paper painted a picture of wholesale opposition to the increase. Of 110 responses, 103 disagreed with the proposal. Even with that opposition, one always wonders whether it makes any difference. On this occasion it seems to have done so. Perhaps, however, it is a short lived reprieve. In any event civil courts may have achieved a reprieve but many of the proposed increases of fees in other tribunals are being implemented.
Domestic & international arguments
Two arguments always surround the issue of court fees, one domestic and the other international. The domestic question is the balancing exercise between a civil justice process that pays for itself (thus meeting the Osborne goal of an economy in surplus) and the level at which fees affect
