Before you think of court proceedings

Consider mediation because before you go to court you are meant to follow the general or specific pre-action protocol that applies to your type of case and as you can see below in paragraph 3. (d) you must consider a form of ADR to assist with settlement.

The specific protocols are set out in Paragraph 18 so for all other types of case Paragraph 3 below applies.

PRACTICE DIRECTION – PRE-ACTION CONDUCT AND PROTOCOLS

1. Pre-action protocols explain the conduct and set out the steps the court would normally expect parties to take before commencing proceedings for particular types of civil claims. They are approved by the Master of the Rolls and are annexed to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). (The current pre-action protocols are listed in paragraph 18.)
2. This Practice Direction applies to disputes where no pre-action protocol approved by the Master of the Rolls applies.

Objectives of pre-action conduct and protocols

1. Before commencing proceedings, the court will expect the parties to have exchanged sufficient information to—

(a) understand each other’s position;

(b) make decisions about how to proceed;

(c) try to settle the issues without proceedings;

(d) consider a form of Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) to assist with settlement;

(e) support the efficient management of those proceedings; and

(f) reduce the costs of resolving the dispute.

1. Specific Pre-Action Protocols exist for the following: