Litigants in Person – Can the Court System Rise to the Challenge?

It is an inevitable effect of many of the changes currently being imposed on the Court and Tribunal system that there will continue to be a significant rise in the number of litigants in person trying to navigate their way through sometimes complicated actions without legal assistance.  The significant reduction in the availability of legal aid, increase in the County Court small claims limit and change to the rules on the recoverability of costs are all examples of measures which are forcing many litigants to go it alone.   

The challenge is whether, at a time when the austerity measures are driving “efficiencies” and reductions in staffing the Court and Tribunal Service, the system can cope with the inevitable increase in workload that this will create.

A judicial working group on litigants in person has recently reported making various recommendations to include additional training and guidance for Judges, a new Civil Procedure rule to balance access to justice with consistency, rules to encourage Judges to deal more proactively with vexatious claimants and even the suggestion that the Courts should move more from their historical adversarial approach to being more inquisitorial - which has been the case for many years across much of mainland Europe.   

These recommendations all seem sensible; however, in reality how will Courts and Tribunals ensure that litigants in person do not gain an unfair advantage over those who have instructed solicitors to act on their behalf and will resources be provided to ensure that the inevitable effect of greater involvement of litigants in person resulting in longer hearings will not impact unfavourably on Court and Tribunal waiting lists.  

 The Court rules apply to all, whether represented or not, and it is clearly unfair if litigants in person are allowed a level of flexibility in complying with Court rules and avoiding sanctions which are then applied stringently to their represented opponents!