Directions Order
WS 9
Exam What alterations
• A draft directions order is essentially the order you want the court to make at the first CMC
→ ideally you attach a draft order to your DQ
• It deals with the procedural issues in the litigation.
• The Ministry of Justice publish standard directions for Multi-Track cases.
• Parties obliged to attempt to agree directions & submit either agreed directions or proposals
at least 7 days before CMC.
• This is essentially parties setting rules for themselves - But the court will keep a close eye on
the directions/rules they are setting themselves to ensure no-one is dragging their feet or
doing anything expensive e.g. instructing lots of experts when there is no need
• The key skill here is identifying which paragraphs are relevant to the facts of the question,
including the relevant ones and deleting the irrelevant ones.
Order of PD28, para 3.12 (The Fast Trask – typical timetable for case prep)
Proceedings 1. Disclosure (4 weeks)
(Reflected in how 2. Exchange of Witness Statements (10 weeks)
the Order is 3. Exchange of Experts’ Reports (14 weeks)
structured)
4. Court Sends Pre-Trial Checklist/Listing Questionnaires (20 weeks)
5. Parties File Pre-Trial Checklists/Listing Questionnaires (22 weeks)
6. Hearing (30) weeks)
(These periods run from the date of allocation)
For a multi-track case, the court will do one of the following depending on which is most
appropriate (PD 29 para 4.5):
1. Give directions for management of the case and set a timetable directly (for simpler cases);
OR
2. Hold a case management conference (CMC) or pre-trial review (or both) and give direction
at this.
The approach of the court when setting directions on its own initiative is set out in PD 29 para
4.10. This includes, inter alia:
• Standard disclosure (2);
• Simultaneous exchange of witness statements (3);
• Single joint expert on any issue unless there is a good reason not to (4);
• Expert reports to be exchanged simultaneously on those issues where issues are not
determined by a SJE (5);
• Direct discussion between experts where the reports are not agreed (6);
• Case management conference to be listed after the date of compliance with the directions
(7);
• To specify a trial period (9);
• Where appropriate that court may require the parties to consider ADR (9) or explain why it
is not suitable.
, Appendix B(7) → Drafting Directions Order
- If choosing which one (like task 1 ws9), you can choose more than once but cannot contradict
themselves
- Look at Task 1 WS 9 task exemplar for directions order
Common directions order
Para What does it Explanation
deal with?
heading, heading
reference
state the master
1 Allocation/Track → Which track is the claim allocated to?
o Will likely be Multi-Track.
✓ “The Claim is allocated to the Multi-Track and is assigned to Master
Jones for case management”.
2 ADR → Standard direction that the parties will consider ADR.
o Copy this out.
✓ “At all stages the parties must consider settling this litigation by any
means of Alternative Dispute Resolution (including Mediation); any
party not engaging in any such means proposed by another must serve
a witness statement giving reasons within 21 days of that proposal;
such witness statement must not be shown to the trial judge until
questions of costs arise”.
3/4 Costs → Are the Budgets Agreed?
management o No need to include the second para if no areas of disagreement.
✓ “The court records that the budgets are agreed between the parties to
the extent set out in the copy budgets attached. The parties must
exchange clean copies of the budgets forthwith”.
✓ “In respect of those parts of budgets which are not agreed, the court
records its approval after making the appropriate revisions, which must
be incorporated within the budgets forthwith”.
WS 9
Exam What alterations
• A draft directions order is essentially the order you want the court to make at the first CMC
→ ideally you attach a draft order to your DQ
• It deals with the procedural issues in the litigation.
• The Ministry of Justice publish standard directions for Multi-Track cases.
• Parties obliged to attempt to agree directions & submit either agreed directions or proposals
at least 7 days before CMC.
• This is essentially parties setting rules for themselves - But the court will keep a close eye on
the directions/rules they are setting themselves to ensure no-one is dragging their feet or
doing anything expensive e.g. instructing lots of experts when there is no need
• The key skill here is identifying which paragraphs are relevant to the facts of the question,
including the relevant ones and deleting the irrelevant ones.
Order of PD28, para 3.12 (The Fast Trask – typical timetable for case prep)
Proceedings 1. Disclosure (4 weeks)
(Reflected in how 2. Exchange of Witness Statements (10 weeks)
the Order is 3. Exchange of Experts’ Reports (14 weeks)
structured)
4. Court Sends Pre-Trial Checklist/Listing Questionnaires (20 weeks)
5. Parties File Pre-Trial Checklists/Listing Questionnaires (22 weeks)
6. Hearing (30) weeks)
(These periods run from the date of allocation)
For a multi-track case, the court will do one of the following depending on which is most
appropriate (PD 29 para 4.5):
1. Give directions for management of the case and set a timetable directly (for simpler cases);
OR
2. Hold a case management conference (CMC) or pre-trial review (or both) and give direction
at this.
The approach of the court when setting directions on its own initiative is set out in PD 29 para
4.10. This includes, inter alia:
• Standard disclosure (2);
• Simultaneous exchange of witness statements (3);
• Single joint expert on any issue unless there is a good reason not to (4);
• Expert reports to be exchanged simultaneously on those issues where issues are not
determined by a SJE (5);
• Direct discussion between experts where the reports are not agreed (6);
• Case management conference to be listed after the date of compliance with the directions
(7);
• To specify a trial period (9);
• Where appropriate that court may require the parties to consider ADR (9) or explain why it
is not suitable.
, Appendix B(7) → Drafting Directions Order
- If choosing which one (like task 1 ws9), you can choose more than once but cannot contradict
themselves
- Look at Task 1 WS 9 task exemplar for directions order
Common directions order
Para What does it Explanation
deal with?
heading, heading
reference
state the master
1 Allocation/Track → Which track is the claim allocated to?
o Will likely be Multi-Track.
✓ “The Claim is allocated to the Multi-Track and is assigned to Master
Jones for case management”.
2 ADR → Standard direction that the parties will consider ADR.
o Copy this out.
✓ “At all stages the parties must consider settling this litigation by any
means of Alternative Dispute Resolution (including Mediation); any
party not engaging in any such means proposed by another must serve
a witness statement giving reasons within 21 days of that proposal;
such witness statement must not be shown to the trial judge until
questions of costs arise”.
3/4 Costs → Are the Budgets Agreed?
management o No need to include the second para if no areas of disagreement.
✓ “The court records that the budgets are agreed between the parties to
the extent set out in the copy budgets attached. The parties must
exchange clean copies of the budgets forthwith”.
✓ “In respect of those parts of budgets which are not agreed, the court
records its approval after making the appropriate revisions, which must
be incorporated within the budgets forthwith”.
