The Civil Justice Council (CJC) has published a report which considers what role Pre-Action Protocols (PAPs) should play in an increasingly digitalised civil justice system.  The report canvasses a number of reform options:

• Making all PAPs available online via portals.
• Formally recognising that compliance with PAPs would be mandatory, except in urgent cases where immediate court intervention is necessary.
• Introducing a good faith obligation to try to resolve or narrow the dispute at the pre-action stage.
• Introducing a requirement to complete a joint stocktake report/list of issues as a final step before the start of proceedings.
• Introducing a summary costs procedure for costs liability and quantum disputes for cases that are resolved at a PAP stage.
• Expanded powers for the courts and new processes for raising compliance issues to facilitate a more robust, consistent and timely approach to non-compliance with PAPs.
• Guidance to the courts to consider ways of streamlining directions and the litigation process to reflect the progress already made by parties who have complied with the relevant PAP.
• Making PAPs more user friendly through greater use of non-technical language and by providing information about the pre-action and litigation process to litigants in person (LIPs).
• Creating a new general PAP with more concrete time frames and disclosure standards for pre-action letters of claim and replies.

Dr Anton van Dellen is the Bar Council Observer on the CJC.