Beginning this week, the UK civil courts will have a new fee regime for specified and unspecified money claims, which will see fees rise by as much as 600%. The fee for issuing a money claim worth £10,000 has increased to 5% of the sum claimed, subject to a maximum fee of £10,000. The changes have drawn criticism that the increase will deter legitimate cases and restrict access to justice.
The Ministry of Justice has said that the purpose of the fees is to cover the costs of the justice system and it is expected that the new fees will bring in £120 million per year. The changes have been planned since late 2013, and they were approved by the House of Lords last week. The changes were opposed by Lord Pannick QC, who has previously defended access to justice while the Parliament discussed changes to judicial review rules. Pannick states that the fee changes would do “incredible damage to the legal heritage because it will impede access to justice”. He went on to say “Mr Grayling is undermining basic access to justice in the courts, by seeking to make money from small businesses which simply want to enforce their contractual rights and from victims of personal injury seeking to obtain compensation from wrongdoers.”
Senior judges, the Law Society, the Bar Council and many others have expressed deep concern over the rise in fees, and have claimed that they will disproportionately affect Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs), and litigants in person. In cases where the amount of damages is not specified in advance, such as certain personal injuries claims, the maximum fee of £10,000 is payable up front. The Law Society is planning to challenge the government’s decision through judicial review and has issued a pre-action protocol letter. “The government’s decision will discourage people from bringing legitimate cases, thus reducing access to justice.”