Define: Woolf Report

The Woolf Report, officially titled “Access to Justice: Final Report to the Lord Chancellor on the Civil Justice System in England and Wales,” was a landmark review of the civil justice system in England and Wales conducted by Lord Woolf, then Master of the Rolls, and published in 1996. The report aimed to address inefficiencies, delays, and costs in the civil justice system and to improve access to justice for all. It proposed significant reforms, including the introduction of the concept of proportionality in litigation, encouraging alternative dispute resolution methods, such as mediation, and promoting case management by judges to expedite cases. The Woolf Report also advocated for the creation of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR), which were subsequently implemented to streamline court procedures and make the civil justice system more accessible, efficient, and cost-effective.

Published in 1996, Lord Woolf’s report Access to Justice set out a number of problems with the existing civil justice system, and made several hundred recommendations for its improvement. The report was adopted by the Government and implemented in a number of measures, notably the Civil Procedure Act 1997. This Act established the Civil Procedure Rules Committee with authority to define rules for all civil litigation (except family proceedings). The first official civil procedure rules were published in January 1999, and substantially modify the way that civil actions are processed.

Among the various problems identified by the report were the following.

• Civil litigation is too slow and too expensive
• Wealthy litigants enjoy a disproportionate advantage over those of more modest means
• It is difficult to predict in advance how long litigation will take and, therefore, what it will cost
• The language used in the description of the litigation procedure is difficult to understand, especially for non-lawyers
• No single body has overall responsibility for the whole system, so different procedures apply to different courts
• The process of litigation is run by the litigants, not by the courts. Rules of Court are often flouted without penalty.

The most important significant reforms include the following.

• The division of claims into three `tracks’: a `Small claims track’ for claims of up to 3000, a `Fast-track’ for claims of 5000 to 15000, and a `Multi-track’ for more expensive or complex claims (small claims are limited to 1000 in personal injury cases)
• Unification of claims procedures in the High Court and the county courts (the civil procedure rules)
• Encouragement of Alternative dispute resolution
• Strict timetabling of litigation
• Cases to be managed by judges rather than litigants; the use of `case management conference’ to decide preliminary issues
• Increased use of information technology
• Claimants to be allowed to offer to settle cases, as well as defendants

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This glossary post was last updated: 29th March 2024.