Civil Justice Council publishes final report on Pre-Action Protocols

The Pre-Action Protocols Working Group of the Civil Justice Council (CJC) is chaired by Professor Andrew Higgins. It has today published its final report.

The Master of the Rolls, Head of Civil Justice and Chairman of the CJC, Sir Geoffrey Vos, said this: “I wholeheartedly welcome the publication of the CJC’s final report on Pre-Action Protocols.

Pre-action protocols are an essential part of the wider pre-action civil justice system. The report was conceived following the Court of Appeal’s decision in Jet2Holidays v. Hughes [2019] EWCA Civ 1858, but is delivered in times of rapid change.

Since the Working Group began, numerous pre-action online portals have been created and much progress has been made towards the digitisation of civil justice. The Online Procedure Rules Committee was created earlier this year, and the pre-litigation landscape has become far more complex.

Sir Geoffrey continued by saying "I am exceedingly grateful to Professor Andrew Higgins and his working group for their insightful study at such a critical time for the entirety of civil justice. I look forward to the next phase of his work.”