Lord Justice Jackson’s Review of Civil Litigation Costs: Final Report was published in January 2010. It was commissioned primarily to review the costs of litigation in the light of the changes that have been intiated in the last 20 years to include case management procedures, the current costs regime and so to recommend ways of promoting access to justice.
Its conclusions condemn the “no win, no fee” agreements saying that these “have been the major contributor to disproportionate costs” and recommends the abolition of the success fees which ‘penalise’ the losing litigant and are paid over and above the actual court costs incurred, suggesting that these should instead by paid by the winning litigant from the damages awarded (which should as a result be increased by 10%). It also highlights the practice (perhaps an unfortunate import from the US) of the payment by lawyers of referral fees to insurance assessors so as to obtain more work and recommends its immediate abolition. The report also supports the trend of the recent legislation in moving towards a greater use of pre-action protocols, alternative dispute resolution (ADR), disclosure and case and costs management by the judiciary.