header-logo header-logo

03 November 2023 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 8047 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
printer mail-detail

Civil way: 3 November 2023

New pre-trial checklists; Intermediate track hearing fee; No fault possession; Help with Fees revamped

LAWBITES

Shrinking world The Hague convention on international child abduction came into force as between the UK and Jamaica on 1 November 2023 (see SI 2023/1084).

Pre-trial checklist (listing questionnaire) Form N170 is not quite sure what it is. It started its life as a ‘listing questionnaire’. Some way along the line it was baptised as a ‘pre-trial checklist’ and now it is a schizophrenic ‘pre-trial checklist (listing questionnaire)’ although it sometimes loses the ‘listing questionnaire’ in CPR text. Whichever appellation you adopt, it has just changed (along with the directions questionnaire in form N18) to accommodate the new intermediate track. For both fast and intermediate tracks, litigants are told that the court will normally give three weeks’ notice of the date fixed for trial unless, in exceptional circumstances, shorter notice has been directed. You will need to say whether shorter notice would be accepted. An estimate of costs must be attached if no costs management

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Cripps—Radius Law

Cripps—Radius Law

Commercial and technology practice boosted by team hire

Switalskis—Grimsby

Switalskis—Grimsby

Firm expands with new Grimsby office to serve North East Lincolnshire

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Slater Heelis—Will Newman & Lucy Spilsbury

Property team boosted by two solicitor appointments

NEWS
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
Recent allegations surrounding Peter Mandelson and Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor have reignited scrutiny of the ancient common law offence of misconduct in public office. Writing in NLJ this week, Simon Parsons, teaching fellow at Bath Spa University, asks whether their conduct could clear a notoriously high legal hurdle
A landmark ruling has reshaped child clinical negligence claims. Writing in NLJ this week, Jodi Newton, head of birth and paediatric negligence at Osbornes Law, explains how the Supreme Court in CCC v Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust [2026] UKSC 5 has overturned Croke v Wiseman, ending the long-standing bar on children recovering ‘lost years’ earnings
A Court of Appeal ruling has drawn a firm line under party autonomy in arbitration. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed, associate professor at the University of Leicester, analyses Gluck v Endzweig [2026] EWCA Civ 145, where a clause allowing arbitrators to amend an award ‘at any time’ was held incompatible with the Arbitration Act 1996
back-to-top-scroll