Court Service Plans 2000 -2003

Court of Appeal (Civil Division)

Workload

In the coming year the Court of Appeal (Civil Division) will be focusing on:

• implementation of the Access to Justice Act 1999 including the introduction of new procedures for civil appeals, the delegation of some appeals to the High Court and the calling in of some appeals to the Court of Appeal. New rules governing appeals are due to come into force on 2 May 2000;
• new and demanding work arising from the Human Rights Act 1998;
• reducing waiting times for both applications and appeals.

It is expected that the number of applications and appeals will increase overall and the nature of the work will become more complex. There will be a greater need for specialised case management to ensure that decisions affecting all civil courts are distributed quickly so as not to cause pressures elsewhere in the civil justice system.

It is hoped that some of the pressures will be offset by the loss of work delegated to the High Court. Additional judicial resources are planned and it is envisaged that additional staff resources will be required to support the court and to manage and co-ordinate the Human Rights work.

Resources (including capital charge on accommodation)

Queen´s Bench and Chancery Division

Workload

The number of claims issued in the Queen´s Bench Action Department has fallen following the implementation of the Civil Justice Reforms in April 1999. The volume has also fallen in the Chancery Division but not to the same extent. It is too soon to predict the long term impact that the Civil Justice Reforms will have on the number of claims issued in both Divisions, and the figures in the chart should be treated as estimates rather than precise projections. The decreases need to be balanced against other pressures. In both Divisions, the time taken to process work under the new Rules has increased significantly. There has also been a dramatic increase in the amount of writs presented to the Queen´s Bench Action Department from the Sheriffs Lodgement Centre and further increases are expected.

Family Division (including the Probate Service)

Workload

In the Family Division it is assumed that changes in divorce procedure will lead to a gradual reduction in the number of petitions issued. As Children Act proceedings mostly take place within divorce cases, changes in the level of work will be broadly in line with the number of petitions. However, Public Law proceedings have shown a larger increase than any other area of family work and are expected to remain at or exceed their current level. In consultation with the judiciary, changes have been made to the Family Division´s listing arrangements to make the fullest possible use of court time and to reduce waiting times, notwithstanding the increased demands created by Children Act cases.

For Probate, the increase in 1999-2000 follows assumptions about the rise in the wealth-owning proportion of the population. Following the increase in demand, enhanced IT support has been introduced over the last two years to improve customer service and to ensure that both new applications and copies (following the recent increase in interest in family history) continue to be dealt with efficiently.

Resources (including capital charge on accommodation)

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