The Law Society has urged Ken Clarke to put on hold his government’s shake-up of civil litigation costs.
In a letter to the justice secretary, the society’s president Linda Lee has warned that his plans to impement the Jackson review's recommendations will result in a less predictable litigation process.
She writes that a pause is needed in order to conduct a robust impact assessment of the reforms, which could have “profound” unintended consequences.
Lee writes: “The introduction of complex new costs procedures, such as qualified one-way costs shifting, will make litigation highly unpredictable and because of this it will be much more difficult for lawyers to advise clients on pursuing a valid claim.
“There is also a strong argument that reducing the damages of victims of negligence in order to fund cases which have up until now been supported by an already profitable insurance market is unjust. While the proposals are strongly supported by insurers, we do not believe that they are in the wider public interest.”
“Such a serious review of public policy which engages directly into political debate should also not have been carried out without a proper impact assessment being made on the effects on access to justice and on accident victims.
“This policy also needs to be paused, while the potential effects are properly analysed and researched by qualified stakeholders and experts.”
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