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Queen's Bench Guide


4. Starting Proceedings in the Central office

4.1 Issuing the Claim Form:

4.1.1 All claims must be started by issuing a Claim Form. The great majority of claims involve a dispute of fact, and the Claim Form should be issued in accordance with Part 7 of the CPR. The Part 8 procedure may be followed in the types of claim described in paragraphs 4.1.14 to 4.1.16 below.

4.1.2 The requirements for issuing a Claim Form are set out in Part 7 and the Part 7 Practice Direction, the main points of which are summarised in the following paragraphs.

4.1.3 The Practice Direction at paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 provides information as to;

  1. where a claim should be started, 
  2. certain matters that must be included in the Claim Form, and
  3. how the heading of the claim should be set out on the Claim Form.

In defamation cases, Part 53 and the Part 53 Practice Direction sets out matters that should be included in the Claim Form and particulars of claim. See also paragraph 12.7 below.

4.1.4 Proceedings are started when the court issues a Claim Form, and a Claim Form is issued on the date sealed on the Claim Form by the court. However, where a Claim Form is received in the court office on an earlier date than the date of issue, then, for the purposes of the Limitation Act 1980, the claim is brought on the earlier date (see paragraphs 5.1 to 5.4 of the Part 7 Practice Direction).

4.1.5 To start proceedings in the Action Department, a claimant must use form N1 (or form N208 for a Part 8 claim) (or a form suitably modified as permitted by Part 4), and should take or send the Claim Form to Room E07, Registry Section, Action Department, Central Office, Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A 2LL. If the court is to serve the Claim Form, the claimant must provide sufficient copies for each defendant. The Claimant will be required to provide a Court copy, a Claimant's copy and one copy for each named Defendant. Copies of practice forms relevant to the work of the Action Department (including the Claim Form and Response Pack) are available from that office. Alternatively, claimants may produce their own forms, which may be modified as the circumstances require, provided that all essential information, especially any information or guidance that the form gives to the recipient, is included. (See Part 4 Forms.)

4.1.6 On issuing the Claim Form, the court will give or send the claimant a notice of issue endorsed with the date of issue of the Claim Form. If the claimant requires the court to serve the Claim Form, the date of posting and deemed date of service will also be endorsed on the notice of issue. Claimants and especially their solicitors who use the Action Department, are encouraged to serve their own documents but must inform the court when service has been effected (see paragraph 4.2.4 in relation to service by the claimant and the certificate of service). For certain types of claims, the notice of issue contains a request for judgment. (See paragraph 5 below for information about default judgments.)

4.1.7 A Claim Form must be served within 4 months after the date of issue (Rule 7.5) unless it is to be served out of the jurisdiction, when the period is 6 months; and Rule 7.6 and paragraph 7 of the Practice Direction set out how and on what grounds an extension of time for service of the Claim Form may be sought. (See Section 4.2 below about service.)

4.2 Particulars of Claim

4.2.1 The particulars of claim may be;

  1. included in the Claim Form, (if served as part of the Claim Form they are available to be copied for any person under CPR 5.4 – see para. 2.2 above)
  2. in a separate document served with the Claim Form, or
  3. in a separate document served within 14 days of service of the Claim Form provided that the particulars of claim are served within the latest time for serving the Claim Form.

4.2.2 A Claim Form that does not include particulars of claim must nonetheless contain a concise statement of the nature of the claim. Any Claim Form and/or Particulars of Claim that

  1. does not comply with the requirements of rule 16.2, or 16.4 or
  2. is garbled or abusive,

will be referred to a Master and is likely to be struck out by the court.

4.2.3 Where the particulars of claim are neither included in or served with the Claim Form;

  1. the Claim Form must contain a statement that particulars of claim will follow, and
  2. the particulars of claim must be served by the claimant and a copy then filed at the court together with a Certificate of Service (CPR 7.4(3))

However, where a Claim Form is to be served out of the jurisdiction, the particulars of claim, if not included in the claim form, must accompany it. (See paragraph 4.2.13 below.)

4.2.4 Certain forms must accompany the particulars of claim when they are served on the defendant. These forms are listed in Rule 7.8 and are included in a Response Pack, which is available from the Action Department.

4.2.5 A party who has entered into a funding arrangement and who wishes to claim an additional liability must give the Court and any other party information about that claim if s/he is to recover the additional liability. Where the funding arrangement has been entered into before proceedings are commenced, the claimant should file a notice of funding in form N251 when the Claim Form is issued.

4.2.6 Part 22 requires the Claim Form and particulars of claim to be verified by a statement of truth, and where the particulars of claim are not included in the Claim Form itself, these are to be separately verified by a statement of truth; see paragraph 6 of the Part 7 Practice Direction, and the Part 22 Practice Direction.

4.2.7 Part 16 and the Part 16 Practice Direction deal with statements of case, and in particular the contents of the Claim Form and the particulars of claim. Part 16 does not apply to claims in respect of which the Part 8 alternative procedure for claims is being used. See paragraph 5.6 below for more about statements of case.  Note the requirements in relation to personal injury claims, fatal accident claims, hire purchase claims and recovery of land or goods.

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4.3 Part 8 Procedure

4.3.1 A claimant may use the Part 8 procedure where;

  1. s/he seeks the court's decision on a question that is unlikely to involve a substantial dispute of fact, or
  2. a Rule or Practice Direction requires or permits the use of the Part 8 procedure,

however, the court may at any stage order the claim to continue as if the claimant had not used the Part 8 procedure.

4.3.2 Certain matters that must be included on the Claim Form when the Part 8 procedure is being used are set out in Rule 8.2. The types of claim for which the Part 8 procedure may be used include;

  1. a claim by or against a child or patient that has been settled before the commencement of proceedings, the sole purpose of the claim being to obtain the approval of the court to the settlement,
  2. a claim for provisional damages that has been settled before the commencement of proceedings, the sole purpose of the claim being to obtain a judgment by consent,
  3. a claim under s. 3 of the Defamation Act 1996 (made other than in existing proceedings), and
  4. a claim under Rule 44.12A where the parties have agreed all issues before the commencement of proceedings except the amount of costs and an order for costs is required.

4.3.3 In addition to the provisions of Rule 8.1, attention is drawn also to the Part 8(B) Practice Direction which deals with proceedings brought under "the Schedule Rules".

See Paragraph 6.7 below for more information regarding the Part 8 procedure.

4.4 Service:

4.4.1 Service of documents is dealt with in Part 6; Section I (Rules 6.1 to 6.11) contains provisions relating to service generally and Section II (Rules 6.12 to 6.16) contains special provisions relating to service of the Claim Form. Section III (Rules 6.17 to 6.31) deals with service out of the jurisdiction. Some of the more important provisions are described below.

Within the jurisdiction

4.4.2 The methods by which a document may be served are to be found in Rule 6.2. The court will serve a document that it has issued or prepared unless;

  1. the party on whose behalf it is to be served notifies the court that s/he wishes to serve it himself,
  2. the court orders otherwise, or
  3. a Rule or Practice Direction provides otherwise.

It is anticipated that practitioners familiar with Central Office procedures will wish to continue to serve their own documents.

4.4.3 Where a party has entered into a funding agreement the notice of funding (form N251) must be served on all the other parties. If a claimant files his/her notice of funding when his/her Claim Form is issued, the Court will serve it on the other parties provided sufficient copies are provided. Otherwise the claimant must serve the notice of funding with the Claim Form. A defendant should file his/her notice of funding with his/her first document, i.e. his/her defence or acknowledgement of service etc. Sufficient copies of the notice should be provided for the Court to serve.

4.4.4 In all other circumstances a party must serve a notice of funding within 7 days of entering into the funding agreement.

4.4.5 Where the court has tried to serve a document but has been unable to serve it, the court will send a notice of non-service to the party on whose behalf it was to be served stating the method attempted. On receipt of this notice, the party should take steps to serve the document himself, as the court is under no further duty to effect service. The method of service used by the court will normally be first-class post.

4.4.6 Where a claimant has served a Claim Form, s/he must file a certificate of service that complies with the provisions of Rule 6.10. The certificate of service must be filed within 7 days of service of the Claim Form, and the claimant may not obtain judgment in default if it has not been filed.

4.4.7 Information as to how personal service is to be effected and as to service by electronic means is to be found in the Part 6 Practice Direction. Rule 6.6 deals with service on a child or patient.

4.4.8 A party must give an address for service within the jurisdiction (i.e. in England or Wales).  Rule 6.5 contains information as to the address for service.

4.4.9 A party may make an application for permission to serve a document by an alternative method to those set out in Rule 6.2. The application may be made without notice, and paragraph 9.1 of the Practice Direction sets out the evidence that will be required in support of the application. (Paragraph 7.12 below contains information in relation to applications.)

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Out of the jurisdiction

4.4.10 The provisions for service out of the jurisdiction are contained in Rules 6.17 to 6.31. Rule 6.19 sets out the provisions whereby a Claim Form may be served out of the jurisdiction without the permission of the court, and Rule 6.20 sets out the circumstances where the court's permission is required. Parties should also see the Practice Direction on service out of the jurisdiction.

4.4.11 A claimant may issue a Claim Form against defendants, one or some of whom appear to be out of the jurisdiction, without first having obtained permission for service out of the jurisdiction, provided that where the Claim Form is not one which may be served without the permission of the court under Rule 6.19, the Claim Form is endorsed by the court that it is "not for service out of jurisdiction".

4.4.12 Where a Claim Form is to be served in accordance with Rule 6.19 it must contain a statement of the grounds on which the claimant is entitled to serve it out of the jurisdiction. (See 6BPD.2). The statement should be as follows;

  1. "I, (name) state that the High Court of England and Wales has power under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 to hear this claim and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland or another Convention territory of any contracting state as defined by section 1(3) of the Act.", or
  2. where the proceedings are those to which Article 16 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to the Act refers,
    "I, (name) state that the High Court of England and Wales has power under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, the claim having as its object rights in rem in immovable property or tenancies in immovable property (or otherwise in accordance with the provisions of Article 16 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to that Act) to which Article 16 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to that Act applies, to hear the claim and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland or another Convention territory of any contracting state as defined by section 1(3) of the Act.", or
  3. where the defendant is party to an agreement conferring jurisdiction to which Article 17 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to that Act applies,
    "I, (name) state that the High Court of England and Wales has power under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, the defendant being a party to an agreement conferring jurisdiction to which Article 17 of Schedule 1, 3C or 4 to that Act applies, to hear the claim and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland or another Convention territory of any contracting state as defined by section 1(3) of the Act.".
  4. where the Judgments Regulation applies (except where Articles 22 or 23 of the Regulation, or Rule 6.19(2) applies),
    "I, (name) state that the High Court of England and Wales has power under Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22nd December 2000 (on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters) to hear this claim and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland or any other Regulation state as defined by section 1(3) of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982”
  5. where Article 22 of the Judgments Regulation applies,
    "I, (name) state that the High Court of England and Wales has power under Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22nd December 2000 (on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters), the claim having as its object rights in rem in immovable property or tenancies in immovable property (or otherwise in accordance with the provisions of Article 22 of that Regulation) to which Article 22 of that Regulation applies, to hear this claim and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland or any other Regulation state as defined by section 1(3) of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982”
  6. where Article 23 of the Judgments Regulation applies,
    "I, (name) state that the High Court of England and Wales has power under Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22nd December 2000 (on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters), the defendant being party to an agreement conferring jurisdiction to which Article 23 of that Regulation applies, to hear this claim and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland or any other Regulation state as defined by section 1(3) of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982”
  7. where Rule 6.19(2) applies,
    "I, (name) state that the High Court of England and Wales has power to hear this claim under [state the provisions of the relevant enactment] which satisfies the requirements of rule 6.19(2), and that no proceedings are pending between the parties in Scotland, Northern Ireland, or in another Contracting State or Regulation State as defined by section 1(3) of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982”

4.4.13 The statement should be signed and have set out the full name of the signatory. If a Claim Form as specified in paragraph 4.2.10 above does not bear the appropriate above statement, the Claim Form will be endorsed "not for service out of the jurisdiction".

4.4.14 An application for an order for permission to issue a Claim Form for service out of the jurisdiction or to serve the Claim Form out of the jurisdiction should be made in accordance with Part 23 (form PF 6(A) may be used). The application must be supported by written evidence, and may be made without notice. The written evidence should state the requirements set out in Rule 6.21(1) and (2).

4.4.15 An order giving permission for service out of the jurisdiction should be in form PF 6(B) and will;

  1. specify the country in which, or place at which, service is to be effected, and
  2. specify the number of days within which the defendant may either
    1. file an acknowledgement of service,
    2. file or serve an admission, or
    3. file a defence to
      the claim, and where an acknowledgement of service is filed, specify a further 14 days within which the defendant may file a defence.  {This information can be found in the Table in the Practice Direction to Part 6 (6BPD.11}

4.4.16 Where service is to be effected in a country which requires a translation of the documents to be served, it is the claimant's responsibility to provide the translation of all the documents for each defendant. In every case, it is the claimant's duty to ensure that the Response Pack clearly states the appropriate period for responding to the Claim Form, and form N9, form N1C and other relevant forms must be modified accordingly. Every translation must be accompanied by a statement by the person making it;

  1. that it is a correct translation, and
  2. including the person's name, address and qualifications for making the translation.

4.4.17 The periods for acknowledging service of a Claim Form served out of the jurisdiction are set out in Rule 6.22 and in the Table contained in the Part 6 Section III Practice Direction, and the periods for serving a defence to a Claim Form served out of the jurisdiction are set out in Rule 6.23 and in the Table in the Practice Direction. Rule 6.24 describes the methods of service.

4.4.18 Where the Claim Form is to be served through;

  1. the judicial authorities of the country where the Claim Form is to be served,
  2. a British Consular authority in that country,
  3. the authority designated under the Hague Convention in respect of that country, or
  4. the Government of that country, or
  5. where the court permits service on a State, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office,
  6. the Receiving Agency designated under Regulation (EC) 1348/2000 the claimant should provide the Senior Master with the following documents by forwarding them to the Foreign Process section, Room E 10;
    1. a request for service by the chosen method (in form PF 7),
    2. a sealed copy and a duplicate copy of the Claim Form,
    3. the Response Pack as referred to in paragraph 4.2.14,
    4. a translation in duplicate, and the statement referred to in paragraph 4.2.13, and
    5. any other relevant documents.

4.4.19 Where service has been requested in accordance with paragraph 4.2.16, the particulars of claim, if not included in the Claim Form, must accompany the Claim Form (in duplicate). Where the claimant is effecting service of the Claim Form direct (and not as in paragraph 4.2.16) and the Claim Form states that particulars of claim are to follow, the permission of the court is not required to serve the particulars of claim out of the jurisdiction.

4.4.20 Where an official certificate of service is received in a foreign language, it is the responsibility of the claimant to obtain a translation of the certificate. Where a defendant served out of the jurisdiction fails to attend a hearing, the official certificate of service is evidence of service. Otherwise the claimant may take no further steps against the defendant until written evidence showing that the Claim Form has been duly served is filed.

4.4.21 Further advice on service out of the jurisdiction may be obtained from the Foreign Process Section, Room E10.
 


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This page was last updated on 27 March 2007 10:24. Publications.
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