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Queen's Bench Guide

7. Case Management and Interim Remedies

7.1 Case management - general:

7.1.1 CPR requires the court to provide a high degree of case management. Case management includes; identifying disputed issues at an early stage; fixing timetables; dealing with as many aspects of the claim as possible on the same occasion; controlling costs; disposing of proceedings summarily where appropriate; dealing with the applications without a hearing where appropriate; and giving directions to ensure that the trial of a claim proceeds quickly and efficiently. The court will expect the parties to co-operate with each other, and where appropriate, will encourage the parties to use ADR or otherwise help them settle the case.

7.1.2 Parties and their legal representatives will be expected to do all that they can to agree proposals for the management of the claim in accordance with Rule 29.4 and paragraphs 4.6 to 4.8 of the Part 29 Practice Direction. There is provision in the Allocation Questionnaire for proposing certain directions to be made, otherwise parties may use form PF 50 for making the application (attaching to it the draft form of order in form PF 52) and file it for the Master's approval. If the Master approves the proposals s/he will give directions accordingly.

7.2 The Case Management Conference:

7.2.1 Parties who are unable to agree proposals for the management of the case, should notify the Court of the matters which they are unable to agree.

7.2.2 Where;

1. the parties proposed directions are not approved, or
2. parties are unable to agree proposed directions, or
3. the Master wishes to make further directions,

the Master will generally either consult the parties or direct that a case management conference be held.

7.2.3 In relatively straightforward claims, the Court may give directions without holding a case management conference.

7.2.4 Any party who considers that a case management conference should be held before any directions are given should so state in his/her Allocation Questionnaire, (or in a Part 8 claim should notify the Master in writing), giving his/her reasons and supplying a realistic time estimate for the case management conference, with a list of any dates or times convenient to all parties, or most of them, in form PF 49.

7.2.5 Where a case management conference has been fixed, parties should ensure that any other applications are listed or made at that hearing. A party applying for directions at the case management conference should use form PF 50 for making their application and attach to it the draft order for directions (form PF 52).

7.2.6 Parties should consider whether a case summary would assist the Master at the Case Management Conference in dealing with the issues before him or her.  Paragraph 5.7 of the Part 29 Practice Direction sets out the provisions for preparation of a case summary.

7.2.7 It may be appropriate for the advocates instructed or expected to be instructed to appear at the trial to attend any hearing at which case management directions are likely to be given. In any event, the legal representatives who attend the case management conference must be familiar with the case and have sufficient authority to deal with any issues which may arise. Where necessary, the court may order the attendance of a party.

7.3 Preliminary issues:

7.3.1 Costs can sometimes be saved by identifying decisive issues, or potentially decisive issues, and by the Court ordering that they be tried first. The decision of one issue, although not necessarily itself decisive of the claim as a whole, may enable the parties to settle the remainder of the dispute. In such a case, the trial of a preliminary issue may be appropriate.

7.3.2 At the allocation stage, at any case management conference and again at any pre-trial review, the court will consider whether the trial of a preliminary issue may be helpful. Where such an order is made, the parties and the court should consider whether the costs of the issue should be in the issue or in the claim as a whole.

7.3.3 Where there is an application for summary judgment, and issues of law or construction may be determined in the respondent's favour, it will usually be in the interests of the parties for such issues to be determined conclusively, rather than that the application should simply be dismissed.

7.4 Trial timetable:

7.4.1 To assist the court to set a trial timetable, a draft timetable should be prepared by the claimant's advocate(s) after consulting the other party's advocates. If there are differing views, those differences should be clearly indicated in the timetable. The draft timetable should be filed with the trial bundle.

7.4.2 The trial timetable will normally include times for giving evidence (whether of fact or opinion) and for oral submissions during the trial.

7.4.3 The trial timetable may be fixed at the case management conference, at any pre-trial review or at the beginning of the trial itself.

7.5 Listing Questionnaire (Pre Trial Check List):

7.5.1 The court will send out a Pre Trial Checklist (N170) to all parties for completion, specifying the date by which it must be returned.

7.5.2 Paragraph 6.4 of the Costs Practice Direction requires an estimate of costs to be filed and served with the Pre Trial Checklist.

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7.6 Pre-trial review:

7.6.1 Where the trial of a claim is estimated to last more than 10 days, or where the circumstances require it, the Master may direct that a pre-trial review ("PTR") should be held. The PTR may be heard by a Master, but more usually is heard by a Judge.

7.6.2 Application should normally be made to the Queen's Bench Listing Officer for the PTR to be heard by the trial judge (if known), and the applicant should do all that he can to ensure that it is heard between 4 and 8 weeks before the trial date, and in any event long enough before the trial date to allow a realistic time in which to complete any outstanding matters.

7.6.3 The PTR should be attended by the advocates who are to represent the parties at the trial.

7.6.4 At least 7 days before the date fixed for the PTR, the applicant must serve the other parties with a list of matters to be considered at the PTR, and those other parties must serve their responses at least 2 days before the PTR. Account must be taken of the answers in any listing questionnaires filed. Realistic proposals must be put forward and if possible agreed as to the time likely to be required for each stage of the trial and as to the order in which witnesses are to be called.

7.6.5 The applicant should lodge a properly indexed bundle containing the listing questionnaires (if directed to be filed) and the lists of matters and the proposals, together with the results of discussions between the parties, and any other relevant material, in the Queen's Bench Listing Office, Room WG8, by no later than 10.30am on the day before the day fixed for the hearing of the PTR. If the PTR is to take place before a Master and he asks for the bundle in advance, it should be lodged in the Masters' Support Unit, Room E14. Otherwise it should be lodged at the hearing.

7.6.6 At the PTR, the court will review the parties' state of preparation, deal with any outstanding matters, and give any directions or further directions that may be necessary.

7.7 Requests for further information:

7.7.1 A party seeking further information or clarification under Part 18 should serve a written request on the party from whom the information is sought before making an application to the court. Paragraph 1 of the Part 18 Practice Direction deals with how the request should be made, and paragraph 2 deals with the response. A statement of truth should verify a response. Parties may use form PF 56 for a combined request and reply, if they so wish.

7.7.2 If a party who has been asked to provide further information or clarification objects or is unable to do so,  s/he must notify the party making the request in writing.

7.7.3 Where it is necessary to apply for an order for further information or clarification the party making the application should set out in or have attached to his/her application notice;

1. the text of the order sought specifying the matters on which further information or clarification is sought, and
2. whether a request has been made and, if so, the result of that request.

Applicants may use form PF 57 for their application notice.

7.8  Disclosure and Inspection of Documents:

Disclosure and inspection of documents involves two stages.  First, disclosure of the existence of documents and claiming privilege from inspection for such documents as may attract privilege (e.g. those to which 'legal advice' privilege applies); and secondly, offering facilities to the opposing party for inspection of certain of those documents.

7.8.1 Under Part 31, there is no longer any general duty to disclose documents. Instead, a party is prevented from relying on any document that s/he has not disclosed, and is required to give inspection of any document to which s/he refers in his/her statement of case or in any witness statement, etc.. The intention is that disclosure should be proportionate to the value of the claim.

7.8.2 If an order for disclosure is made, unless the contrary is stated, the Court will order standard disclosure, namely disclosure of only;

1. the documents on which a party relies,
2. the documents that adversely affect his/her own or another party's case,
3. the documents that support another party's case, and 
4. the documents required to be disclosed by a relevant practice direction.

Parties should give standard disclosure by completing form N265 and may list the documents by category.

7.8.3 The court may either limit or dispense with disclosure (and the parties may agree to do likewise). The court may also order disclosure of specified documents or specified classes of documents. In deciding whether to make any such order for specific disclosure, the court will want to be satisfied that the disclosure is necessary, that the cost of disclosure will not outweigh the benefits of disclosure and that a party's ability to continue the litigation would not be impaired by any such order.

7.8.4 The court will therefore seek to ensure that any specific disclosure ordered is appropriate to the particular case, taking into account the financial position of the parties, the importance of the case and the complexity of the issues.

7.8.5 If specific disclosure is sought, a separate application for specific disclosure should be made in accordance with Part 23; it is not a matter that would be routinely dealt with at the CMC. The parties should give careful thought to ways of limiting the burdens of such disclosure, whether by giving disclosure in stages, by dispensing with the need to produce copies of the same document, by requiring disclosure of documents sufficient merely for a limited purpose, or otherwise. They should also consider whether the need for disclosure could be reduced or eliminated by a request for further information.

7.8.6 A party who has the right to inspect a document should give written notice of his/her wish to inspect to the party disclosing the document. That party must permit inspection not more than 7 days after receipt of the notice.

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7.9 Experts and Assessors:

7.9.1 The parties in a claim must bear in mind that under Part 35 no party may call an expert or put in evidence an expert's report without the court's express permission, and the court is under a duty to restrict such evidence to what is reasonably required.

7.9.2 The duty of an expert called to give evidence is to assist the court. This duty overrides any obligation to the party instructing him or by whom s/he is being paid (see the Part 35 Practice Direction). In fulfilment of this duty, an expert must for instance make it clear if a particular question or issue falls outside his/her expertise or if s/he considers that insufficient information is available on which to express an opinion.

7.9.3 Before the Master gives permission, s/he must be told the field of expertise of the expert on whose evidence a party wishes to rely and where practicable the identity of the expert. Even then, s/he may, before giving permission, impose a limit on the extent to which the cost of such evidence may be recovered from the other parties in the claim.

7.9.4 Parties should always consider whether a single expert could be appointed in a particular claim or to deal with a particular issue. Before giving permission for the parties to call separate experts, the Master will always consider whether a single joint expert ought to be used, whether in relation to the issues as a whole or to a particular issue.

7.9.5 In many cases it is possible for the question of expert evidence or one or more of the areas of expert evidence to be dealt with by a single expert. Single experts are, for example, often appropriate to deal with questions of quantum in cases where primary issues are as to liability. Likewise, where expert evidence is required in order to acquaint the court with matters of expert fact, as opposed to opinion, a single expert will usually be appropriate. There remain, however, a body of cases where liability will turn upon expert opinion evidence and where it will be appropriate for the parties to instruct their own experts. For example, in cases where the issue for determination is as to whether a party acted in accordance with proper professional standards, it will often be of value to the court to hear the opinions of more than one expert as to the proper standard in order that the court becomes acquainted with a range of views existing upon the question and in order that the evidence can be tested in cross-examination.

7.9.6 It will not be a sufficient ground for objecting to an order for a single joint expert that the parties have already chosen their own experts. An order for a single joint expert does not prevent a party from having his/her own expert to advise him, though that is likely to be at his/her own cost, regardless of the outcome.

7.9.7 When the use of a single joint expert is being considered, the Master will expect the parties to co-operate in agreeing terms of reference for and instructions to the expert. In most cases, such terms of reference/instructions will include a statement of what the expert is asked to do, will identify any documents that s/he will be asked to consider and will specify any assumptions that s/he is asked to make.

7.9.8 The court will generally also order that experts in the same field confer on a 'without prejudice' basis, and then report in writing to the parties and the court on the extent of any agreement, giving reasons at least in summary for any continuing disagreement. A direction to 'confer' gives the experts the choice of discussing the matter by telephone or in any other convenient way, as an alternative to attending an actual meeting. Any material change of view of an expert should be communicated in writing to the other parties through their legal representatives, and when appropriate, to the court.

7.9.9 Written questions may be put to an expert within 28 days after service of his/her report, but must only be for purposes of clarification of the expert's report e.g. when the other party does not understand it. Questions going beyond this can only be put with the agreement of the parties or the Master's permission. The procedure of putting written questions to experts is not intended to interfere with the procedure for an exchange of professional opinion in discussions between experts or to inhibit that exchange of professional opinion. If questions that are oppressive in number or content are put without permission for any purpose other than clarification of the expert's report, the court is likely to disallow the questions and make an appropriate order for costs against the party putting them. (See paragraph 4.3 of the Part 35 Practice Direction with respect to payment of an expert's fees for answering questions under Rule 35.6.)

7.9.10 An expert may file with the court a written request for directions to assist him in carrying out his/her function as an expert. The expert should guard against accidentally informing the court about, or about matters connected with, communications or potential communications between the parties that are without prejudice or privileged. The expert may properly be asked to be privy to the content of these communications because s/he has been asked to assist the party instructing him to evaluate them.

7.9.11 Under Rule 35.15 the court may appoint an assessor to assist it in relation to any matter in which the assessor has skill and experience. The report of the assessor is made available to the parties. The remuneration of the assessor is decided by the court and forms part of the costs of the proceedings.

7.10 Evidence:

7.10.1 Evidence is dealt with in the CPR in Parts 32, 33 and 34.

7.10.2 The most common form of written evidence is a witness statement. The Part 32 Practice Direction at paragraphs 17, 18 and 19 contains information about the heading, body (what it must contain) and format of a witness statement. The witness must sign a statement of truth to verify the witness statement; the wording of the statement of truth is set out in paragraph 20.2 of the Practice Direction.

7.10.3 A witness statement may be used as evidence in support of an interim application and, where it has been served on any other party to a claim, it may be relied on as a statement of the oral evidence of the witness at the trial. Part 33 contains provisions relating to the use of hearsay evidence in a witness statement.

7.10.4 In addition to the information and provisions for making a witness statement mentioned in paragraph 7.10.2, the following matters should be borne in mind;

1. a witness statement must contain the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth on the issues it covers,
2. those issues should consist only of the issues on which the party serving the witness statement wishes that witness to give evidence in chief and should not include commentary on the trial bundle or other matters which [may arise during the trial or] may have arisen during the proceedings,
3. a witness statement should be as concise as the circumstances allow, inadmissible or irrelevant material should not be included,
4. the cost of preparation of an over-elaborate witness statement may not be allowed,
5. Rule 32.14 states that proceedings for contempt of court may be brought against a person ifs/he makes, or causes to be made, a false statement in a document verified by a statement of truth without an honest belief in its truth,
6. if a party discovers that a witness statement, which they have served, is incorrect they must inform the other parties immediately.

7.10.5 Evidence may also be given by affidavit but unless an affidavit is specifically required either in compliance with a court order, a Rule or Practice Direction, or an enactment, the party putting forward the affidavit may not recover from another party the cost of making an affidavit unless the court so orders.

7.10.6 The Part 32 Practice Direction at paragraphs 3 to 6 contains information about the heading, body, jurat (the sworn statement which authenticates the affidavit) and the format of an affidavit. The court will normally give directions as to whether a witness statement or, where appropriate, an affidavit is to be filed.

7.10.7 A statement of case, which has been verified by a statement of truth, and an application notice containing facts which have been verified by a statement of truth may also stand as evidence other than at the trial.

7.10.8 Evidence by deposition is dealt with in Part 34. A party may apply to a Master for an order for a person to be examined before a hearing takes place (Rule 34.8). Evidence obtained on an examination under that Rule is referred to as a deposition. The Master may order the person to be examined before either a Judge, an examiner of the court or such other person as the court appoints. The Part 34 Practice Direction at paragraph 4 sets out in detail how the examination should take place.

7.10.9 Provisions relating to applications for evidence by deposition to be taken either;

1. in this country for use in a foreign court, or
2. abroad for use in proceedings within the jurisdiction

are set out in detail in the Part 34 Practice Direction at paragraphs 5 and 6.

7.10.10 The procedure for issuing a witness summons is also dealt with in Part 34 and the Practice Direction. A witness summons may require a witness to;

1. attend court, or
2. produce documents to the court, or
3. both,

on either a date fixed for the hearing or another date as the court may direct (but see also Rule 31.17 which may be used when there are areas of contention).

7.10.11 The court may also issue a witness summons in aid of a court or tribunal which does not have the power to issue a witness summons in relation to the proceedings before it (and see the Part 34 Practice Direction at paragraphs 1, 2 and 3).

7.10.12 To issue a witness summons, two copies should be filed in the Action Department, Room E07 for sealing; one copy will be retained on the court file.

7.10.13 A witness summons must be served at least 7 days before the date upon which the witness is required to attend.  If this is not possible for any reason, an order must be sought from a Master that a witness summons is binding although it will be served less than 7 days before the date when the witness is required to attend.  A Master will usually be prepared to deal with this in Practice, without notice.

7.10.14 A witness summons will be served by the court unless the party on whose behalf it is issued indicates in writing that s/he wishes to serve it himself.  If time is a critical factor, it may be preferable for the party to serve the witness summons.  For the method of service see the notes to Part 34 at paragraph 34.6.1.

7.10.15 At the time of service of the witness summons the witness must be offered “Conduct money” to defray his or her expenses of coming to, staying at, and returning from the place of the trial.  Thus, where the court is to serve, the party on whose behalf it is issued must deposit the amount of conduct money in the court office.  For the relevant amounts see the note at Part 34 paragraph 34.7.1.

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7.11 Hearings:

Hearings generally

Hearings in public/private

7.11.1 All hearings are in principle open to the public, even though in practice most of the hearings until the trial itself will be attended only by the parties and their representatives. However, in an appropriate case the court may decide to hold a hearing in private. Rule 39.2 lists the circumstances where it may be appropriate to hold a hearing in private. In addition, paragraph 1.5 of the Part 39 Practice Direction sets out certain types of hearings which may be listed in private.

7.11.2 The court also has the power under section 11 of the Contempt of Court Act 1981 to make an order forbidding publication of any details that might identify one or more of the parties. Such orders are granted only in exceptional cases.

7.11.3 References in the CPR and Practice Directions to hearings being in public or private do not restrict any existing rights of audience or confer any new rights of audience in respect of applications or proceedings which under the rules previously in force would have been heard in court or chambers respectively. Advocates (and judges) do not wear robes at interim hearings before High Court Judges. Robes are worn for trials and certain other proceedings such as preliminary issues, committals etc. It is not intended that the new routes of appeal should restrict the advocate's right of audience, in that, a solicitor who appeared in a county court matter which is the subject of an appeal to a High Court Judge would normally be allowed to appear at the appeal hearing.

Conduct of the parties

7.11.4 Parties are reminded that they are expected to act with courtesy and respect for the other parties present and for the proceedings of the court. Punctuality is particularly important; being late for hearings is unfair to the other parties and other court users, as well as being discourteous to them and to the court.

Preparation for hearings

7.11.5 To ensure court time is used efficiently there must be adequate preparation prior to the hearing. This includes the preparation and exchange of skeleton arguments, the compilation of bundles of documents and the giving of realistic time estimates. Where estimates prove inaccurate, a hearing may have to be adjourned to a later date, and the party responsible for the adjournment is likely to be ordered to pay the costs thrown away.

7.11.6 The parties should use their best endeavours to agree beforehand the issues, or main issues between them, and must co-operate with the court and each other to enable the court to deal with claims justly; parties may expect to be penalised for failing to do so.

7.11.7 A bundle of documents must be compiled for the court's use at the trial, and also for hearings before the Interim Applications Judge or a Master where the documents to be referred to total 25 pages or more. The party lodging a trial or hearing bundle should supply identical bundles to all parties and for the use of witnesses. The efficient preparation of bundles is very important. Where bundles have been properly prepared, the claim will be easier to understand and present, and time and costs are likely to be saved. Where documents are copied unnecessarily or bundled incompetently, the costs may be disallowed. Paragraph 3 of the Part 39 Practice Direction sets out in full the requirements for compiling bundles of documents for hearings or trial.

7.11.8 The trial bundle must be filed not more than 7 and not less than 3 days before the start of the trial. Bundles for a Master's hearing should be brought to the hearing unless it is likely to assist the Master to read the bundle in advance in which case it should be lodged with the Masters' Support Unit or the Master directly 1-3 days in advance. The contents of the trial bundle should be agreed where possible, and it should be made clear whether in addition, they are agreeing that the documents in the bundle are authentic even if not previously disclosed and are evidence of the facts stated in them even if a notice under the Civil Evidence Act 1995 has not been served.  If the trial/hearing bundles are extensive and either party wishes the judge to read certain documents in advance of the hearing, a reading list should be provided.

7.11.9 Lists of authorities for use at trial or at substantial hearings before a Judge should be provided to the usher by 9.00am on the first day of the hearing. For other applications before a Judge, or applications before a Master, copies of the authorities should be included in the bundle or in a separate bundle.

7.11.10 For trial and most hearings before a Judge, and substantial hearings before a Master, a chronology, a list of the persons involved and a list of the issues should be prepared and filed with the skeleton argument. A chronology should be non-contentious and agreed with the other parties if possible. If there is a material dispute about any event stated in the chronology, that should be stated.

7.11.11 Skeleton arguments should be prepared, filed and served;

1. for trials, not less than 2 days before the trial in the Listing Office, and
2. for substantial applications or appeals, not later than 1 day before the hearing in the Listing Office and, where the Master has requested papers in advance of the hearing, in the Masters' Support Unit Room E16 or directly with the Master.  Parties should avoid handing skeleton arguments to the other party at the door of the court even for less substantial hearings, so that each party has time to consider the other party's case.

7.11.12 A skeleton argument should;

1. concisely summarise the party's submissions in relation to each of the issues,
2. cite the main authorities relied on, which may be attached,
3. contain a reading list and an estimate of the time it will take the Judge to read,
4. be as brief as the issues allow and not normally be longer than 20 pages of double-spaced A4 paper,
5. be divided into numbered paragraphs and paged consecutively,
6. avoid formality and use understandable abbreviations, and
7. identify any core documents, which it would be helpful to read beforehand.

7.11.13 Where a party decides not to call a witness whose witness statement has been served, to give oral evidence at trial, prompt notice of this decision should be given to all other parties. The party should also indicate whether s/he proposes to put, or seek to put, the witness statement in as hearsay evidence. Ifs/he does not, any other party may do so.

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Recording of proceedings

7.11.14 At any hearing, including the trial, any oral evidence, the judgment or decision (including reasons) and any summing up to a jury will be recorded. At hearings before Masters, it is not normally practicable to record anything other than oral evidence and any judgment, but these will be recorded. If a party wishes the whole proceedings to be recorded that party should inform the Master at the start of the hearing.  A party to the proceedings may obtain a transcript of the proceedings on payment of the appropriate charge, from the Courts Recording and Transcription Unit, Room WB14. A person who is not a party to the proceedings may not obtain a transcript of a hearing which took place in private without the permission of the court.

7.11.15 No person or party may use unofficial recording equipment at a hearing without the permission of the court; to do so constitutes a contempt of court.

7.12 Applications:

7.12.1 Applications for court orders are governed by Part 23 and the Part 23 Practice Direction. Rule 23.6 and paragraph 2 of the Part 23 Practice Direction set out the matters an application notice must include. The Part 23 Practice Direction states that form N244 may be used, however, parties may prefer to use form PF244 which is available for use in the Royal Courts of Justice only. To make an application the applicant must file an application notice unless a Rule or Practice Direction permits otherwise or the court dispenses with the requirement for an application notice. Except in cases of extreme urgency, or where giving notice might frustrate the order (as with a search order), an application notice must be served on every party unless a Rule or Practice Direction or a court order dispenses with service (see paragraph 7.12.3 below). A Master will not normally make an order on the basis of correspondence alone.

7.12.2 Applications for remedies which a Master has jurisdiction to grant should ordinarily be made to a Master. The Part 2 Practice Direction (Allocation of cases to levels of Judiciary) contains information about the types of applications which may be dealt with by Masters and Judges. An application notice for hearing by;

1. a Judge should be issued in the Queen's Bench Listing Office, Room WG8, and
2. a Master should be issued in the Masters' Support Unit, Room E16,

and wherever possible should be accompanied by a draft in double spacing of the order sought.

7.12.3 The following are examples of applications which may be heard by a Master where service of the application notice is not required;

1. service by an alternative method (Rule 6.8),
2. service of a Claim Form out of the jurisdiction (section III of Part 6),
3. default judgment under Rule 12.11(4) or (5),
4. substituting a party under Rule 19.1(4),
5. permission to issue a witness summons under Rule 34.3(2),
6. deposition for use in a foreign court (CPR Part 34 Section II),
7. Interim Charging Order (CPR Part 73)), and
8. Interim Third Party Debt Order (CPR Part 72).

7.12.4 Paragraph 3 of the Part 23 Practice Direction states in addition that an application may be made without serving an application notice;

1. where there is exceptional urgency,
2. where the overriding objective is best furthered by doing so,
3. by consent of all parties, and
4. where a date for a hearing has been fixed and a party wishes to make an application at that hearing but does not have sufficient time to serve an application notice.

With the court's permission an application may also be made without serving an application notice where secrecy is essential.

7.12.5 Where an application is heard in the absence of one or more of the parties, it is the duty of the party attending to disclose fully all matters relevant to the application, even those matters adverse to the applicant. Failure to do so may result in the order being set aside. In addition any party who has not had notice of a hearing may apply to have the order set aside within 7 days of service of the order made at the hearing.

7.12.6 Where notice of an application is to be given, the application notice should be served as soon as practicable after issue and, if there is to be a hearing, at least 3 clear days before the hearing date, unless the CPR provides a longer period or for permission for shorter service is obtained from a Master. Where there is insufficient time to serve an application notice, informal notice of the application should be given unless the circumstances of the application require secrecy.

7.12.7 The court may deal with an application without a hearing if;

1. the parties agree the terms of the order sought,
2. the parties agree that the application should be dealt with without a hearing, or 
3. the court does not consider that a hearing would be appropriate.

7.12.8 The court may deal with an application or part of an application by telephone where it is convenient to do so or in matters of extreme urgency. Applications where there are a number of contested issues or where the hearing is likely to take longer than 45 minutes are not usually suitable for telephone hearings.  The hearings most appropriate for a telephone hearing are Case Management Conferences and short applications for, e.g. extensions of time.  See paragraph 6 of the Part 23 Practice Direction for the procedure to be followed. 

Urgent applications

7.12.9 Applications of extreme urgency may be made out of hours and will be dealt with by the duty judge. An explanation will be required as to why it was not made or could not be made during normal court hours. 

7.12.10 Initial contact should be made through the Security Office on 020 7947 6260 who will require the applicant's phone number. The clerk to the duty judge will then contact the applicant and will require the following information;

1. the name of the party on whose behalf the application is to be made,
2. the name and status of the person making the application,
3. the nature of the application,
4. the degree of urgency, and
5. the contact telephone number(s).

7.12.11 The duty judge will indicate to his/her clerk ifs/he thinks it appropriate for the application to be dealt with by telephone or in court. The clerk will inform the applicant and make the necessary arrangements. Where the duty judge decides to deal with the application by telephone, and the facility is available, it is likely that the judge will require a draft order to be faxed to him. An application for an injunction will be dealt with by telephone only where counsel or solicitors represent the applicant. 

7.12.12 It is not normally possible to seal an order out of hours. The judge is likely to order the applicant to file the application notice and evidence in support on the same or next working day, together with two copies of the order for sealing.

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7.13 Interim remedies:

7.13.1 Interim remedies which the court may grant are listed in Rule 25.1. An order for an interim remedy may be made at any time including before proceedings are started and after judgment has been given. Some of the most commonly sought remedies are injunctions, many of which are heard by the Interim Applications Judge.

7.13.2 Where a Claim has been started, an application on notice for an injunction should be filed in the Listing Office, Room WG8 for a hearing to be listed. If the application is to be made without giving notice to the other parties in the first instance, the Application Notice stamped with the appropriate fee should be brought to the Interim Applications Court, Court 37, together with the evidence in support, a skeleton argument (where appropriate) and two copies of the Order sought. Applications without notice are heard in Court 37 at 10.00am and 2.00pm, and at such other times as the urgency of the application dictates.

7.13.3 Where an injunction is granted without the other party being present it will normally be for a limited period; a return date 1 to 2 weeks ahead. If the injunction order contains an undertaking to issue a Claim Form, this should be issued before the Application Notice for the return date is filed in Room WG8 prior to service.

7.13.4 The Part 25 (Interim Injunctions) Practice Direction at paragraph 4 deals fully with making urgent applications and those without notice, and paragraphs 6, 7 and 8 deal specifically with search orders and freezing injunctions, examples of which are annexed to the Practice Direction.

7.13.5 Certain applications may be heard in private if the judge thinks it appropriate to do so (Rule 39.2(3)). An application to go into private should be made at the outset of the hearing. Certain applications for search orders and freezing injunctions might be appropriate for hearing in private.

7.13.6 Applications for interim payments are heard by a Master. The application notice should be filed in the Masters' Support Unit, Room E14. The requirements for obtaining an order for an interim payment are fully dealt with in the Part 25 (Interim Payments) Practice Direction.

7.14 Interlocutory Orders

Orders made by the Masters

7.14.1 In the majority of cases Orders by Masters in the Queen's Bench Division are drawn up by one of the parties, who must then arrange to have this sealed by the Judgment & Orders Section (Room E17) and effect service on all other parties.  In a limited number of circumstances, e.g. where an order is made of the court's own initiative, the court will draw up, seal and serve an order.

7.14.2 Where an application notice has been issued, and there has been a hearing, the Master will endorse the order in handwriting upon the original application notice.  (If the original is not at the hearing, the party drawing up the order will have to ask the Master's permission to treat a photocopy as an original).  If the parties have provided a draft order, will endorse this, with or without amendment.  The application notice would then be endorsed “Order in the form initialled”.  If the hearing is one where there is no application notice, for example a Case Management Conference, then the Master will endorse the order on any Notice of the hearing sent by the court, or will use a draft order provided by one of the parties to endorse the order.

7.14.3 The Master will usually direct which party should be responsible for drawing up the Order. In the absence of such direction, this will be the party who issued the application to which the order relates, or the Claimant where the order was made in a case management conference.  The Master will also direct a date by which the order should be drawn up, sealed and served.  If no date is specified, the order must be served within 14 days of the date it was made.

7.14.4 The party responsible for drawing up the order should lodge with the Judgments & Orders Section:

1. The application notice (or other document) endorsed by the Master;
2. Clean copies for sealing, one for each party and one for the court file;
3. Evidence of payment of the court fee

7.14.5   That party should serve the sealed order upon each other party to the action by the date specified.  If not sealed and served by that date, a party will have to obtain the court's permission to file the order out of time, which should be sought from the Practice Master.

7.14.6   If an order is made without a hearing, then the party making the application must also draw up, file and serve the order in accordance with the procedure set out below.

Orders made by a High Court Judge

7.14.7 Order made by a Judge on an interim application will, where the parties have legal representation, generally be drawn up in the same way as orders made by the Masters. However, the court will draw, seal and serve orders on behalf of litigants in person, and also orders made in appeal proceedings.

7.15 Civil Restraint Orders:

7.15.1 The power of the court to make civil restraint order (”CROs”) is governed by CPR 3.11, however the practice direction to Part 3 (Civil Restraint Orders) sets out the procedure in detail.

7.15.2 There are 3 types of CRO – limited civil restraint order, extended civil restraint order and general civil restraint order.

7.15.3 For a limited CRO (“LCRO”) to be made, 2 or more findings that a litigant's application is totally without merit must first have been made. An LCRO may by made by a Judge of any court which includes a Master and District Judge. An LCRO restrains the litigant from making any further application in the proceedings in which the LCRO is made and usually remains in effect for the duration of those proceedings.

7.15.4 An extended CRO (“ECRO”) may be made where a litigant has persistently issued claims or made applications which are totally without merit. An ECRO may be made (i) in respect of any court when made by a Judge of the Court of Appeal, (ii) in the High Court or any county court when made by a Judge of the High Court and (iii) in any county court when made by a Designated Civil Judge or his appointed deputy.

7.15.5 An ECRO restrains the litigant from making any further applications involving or relating to or touching or leading to the proceedings in which the ECRO is made and will be made for a specified period not exceeding 2 years.

7.15.6 A general CRO (“GCRO”) may be made where, despite the existence of an ECRO, a litigant persists in issuing claims and making applications which are totally without merit.

7.15.7 A GCRO restrains the litigant from issuing any claim or making any application (i) in any court when made by a Judge of the Court of Appeal, (ii) in the High Court or any county court when made by a Judge of the High Court and (iii) in any county court when made by a Designated Civil Judge or his appointed deputy.

7.15.8 The CRO's provide for the litigant to seek in writing the court's permission to issue any claim or make any application which is restrained by the CRO. Both the CRO's and the practice direction set out in detail how such application is to be made and the consequences of failing to do so.

7.15.9 An application for a CRO may be made by another party in accordance with the provisions of Part 23, or may be made by the court of its own volition.