English court fee rise – update

United Kingdom
25/02/2015
Download PDF

On 16 January 2015, the Ministry of Justice announced that the cost of issuing money claims in the English courts was set to rise to 5% of the value of the claim, subject to a cap of £10,000, from as early as 1 March 2015 (see our recent Law-Now for more detail).

The introduction of the rise in fees is now delayed until at least April 2015. In addition, on 22 February 2015, the Law Society issued a pre-action protocol letter for judicial review to challenge the government’s decision. Amongst other grounds, the Law Society claims the new fees “would be tantamount to ‘selling justice’, contrary to the principles of Magna Carta”.

The Law Society’s president, Andrew Caplen, said “The government’s hikes – due to come in from April – will price the public out of the courts and leave small businesses saddled with debts they are due but unable to afford to recover.”

Other signatories to the pre-action protocol letter include:

the Bar Council, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx), Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL), Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS), Chancery Bar Association, Action Against Medical Accidents (AvMA) and the Commercial Bar Association (COMBAR).

Related articles click here.

Search Filters

Advanced Search

Key contact

Related content

  • 24/04/2024

    CMS Banking Disputes Report 2024

    Working with litigation analytics company, Solomonic, CMS has published its Banking Disputes Report 2024, a data-driven review of the Banking and Finance sector’s dispute-related activity to identify key trends, how banking disputes are being determined...
  • 24/04/2024

    Bulgaria considers introducing Contracts for Difference

    Currently, Bulgaria is among a small number of EU member states that lacks the concept of contracts for difference (CfD). So far, the country had a feed in tariff as a mechanism to subsidise renewable energy producers who meet legislative requirements....
  • 23/04/2024

    Bulgaria passes Ordinance offering international trade with guarantees of origin

    Following the development of the EU legislation and reflecting market needs and increasing interest in trading with guarantees of origin, the Bulgaria’s Ministry of Energy adopted new Ordinance No. Е-РД-04-2 of 2 April 2024 on...