FPR: David Burrows puts case management principles in the spotlight
The concept of an overriding objective is well-known to those using the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR 1998). The Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010), which came into operation on 6 April 2011, reproduces the CPR overriding objective with one amendment.
The overriding objective is not a rule in the sense that it does not require anyone to do or not to do anything. It is an exhortation to the court and to the parties to proceed by a set of principles which should govern the exercise of the court’s powers and any discretion under the rules, and the court’s interpretation of the rules (FPR 2010 r 1.2). The parties have a balancing duty to the court (FPR 2010 r 1.3), “to help the court to further the overriding objective”. This is the essence of case management.
Case management is the procedural means whereby applications are moved on to trial by judges and the court administration. So far as possible, this should be with the assistance and co-operation of the parties (r
