SQE 1: Dispute Resolution CRYPT SHEET
Contents
1. Introduction to dispute resolution
2. Professional conduct
3. Costs
4. Alternative dispute resolution
5. Pre-action considerations and conduct
6. Parties to proceedings
7. Commencing and serving proceedings
8. Responding to proceedings
9. Statements of case
10. Early disposal
11. Interim applications
12. Case management
13. Costs management
14. Disclosure and inspection
15. Witness and expert evidence
16. Settlement
17. Discontinuance
18. Trial
19. Enforcement
20. Appeals
21. Jurisdiction and conflict of laws
, 1. Introduction to dispute resolution
Any kind of litigation which is NOT criminal
Claimant is going to court seeking a remedy from the defendant - often a sum of money
Broad & varied range of subject matter (breach of contract; negligence; PI; property
disputes; custody of a child; divorce; JR; IP)
Pre-action
Pre-action considerations and conduct – parties are expected to try to resolve a
dispute w/o court proceedings (i.e. setting out complaints in a less formal way,
negotiating etc.)
Statements of the case - these DEFINE the scope of the dispute*
Claim form & particulars of claim – this is where the claimants set out the facts
underpinning the claim
Acknowledgement of service and/or admission/defence/defence and
counterclaim
Case management
Court will actively manage a case: sets out a timetable for the case by making a
Directions Order
Court will allocate the case to one of three tracks: 1) Small claims track, 2) Fast
track, or 3) Multi-track [+ will set out directions to guide the claim through these
stages]
Evidence
Disclosure: each party will exchange documents, witness statements and expert
reports
Each stage in preparing your evidence & reviewing evidence from the other side will
be costly so case needs its own bespoke timetable and budget
The court will not leave this entirely to the parties to sort out themselves (case
management)
Trial
The judge has two main roles:
1. To decide on issues of fact that C & D did not agree on & decide on the correct
version
2. To decide on the combination of facts whether it entitles the claimant to the
remedy it says it does
Post-trial
Enforcement: where D is told by the court to award a remedy and has not done
so, the claimant may wish to enforce this order
OR
, Appeal: D may wish to appeal this result
The Civil Court System
© Main civil courts = the County Court and High Court, which are courts of first instance.
© The Court of Appeal and Supreme Court are courts that only hear appeals.
KEY: Claims cannot be commenced in the High Court unless their value is more than
£100,000 (£50,000 or more in the case of PI claims)
County ® ONE, national County Court with 173 ‘hearing centres’ across E & W
Court ® Local hearing centre can be selected for hearings
® Generally used for less complex, lower value claims
High ® Sits in the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand + 130 District Registries
Court ® Has THREE divisions – King's Bench, Chancery and Family – and specialist courts
/ lists within these divisions.
Highlighted in blue= collectively “Business and Property Courts”. They sit in
London, but some also sit in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool,
Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff
KBD Division Chancery Division
“General” KBD list: broad areas, Insolvency and Companies List:
mainly claims for damages in respect ‘personal and corporate insolvency; unfair
of PI, prof. neg, breach of contract, prejudice petitions, shareholders disputes,
non-payment of debt, breach of directors' disqualification, applications
statutory duty under CA 2006.
Administrative Court: lawfulness of Revenue List: major points of principle
acts and omissions of the state (JR) relating to taxation where HMRC = party
, Planning Court: planning permission, Competition List: competition law
highways, rights of way, compulsory
purchase orders. Business List: broad - e.g. business
structure, directors' breach of duty, tort,
Commercial Court: complex cases breach of contract, pensions, financial
arising out of business disputes services.
(arbitration, aviation, banking &
financial markets, fraud, insurance, Property, Trusts and Probate List: land
shipping). Often international. including landlord and tenant,
administration of estates, execution of
Circuit Commercial Courts: trusts, charities, probate.
commercial work - commercial
contracts, sale of goods, insurance, Intellectual Property List:
banking, professional negligence.
Technology & Construction Court:
construction, engineering, computers,
software, environmental, public
procurement.
Admiralty Court: shipping and
maritime.
Straddling BOTH KBD and Chancery Division:
Financial List: hears financial disputes of £50 million or more in value + which
require particular judicial knowledge of financial markets
Court of ® Consists of a Civil Division and a Criminal Division
Appeal ® In practice, the Court of Appeal = final court of appeal for the majority of cases.
Suprem ® At the APEX of legal system - only hears appeals on points of ‘general public
e Court importance’
Particular leadership roles:
Lord Chief Justice: most senior member of the judiciary; represents view to Parliament &
Government + leads in relation to the welfare, training & guidance of the judiciary and the
deployment of judges across England and Wales.
Master of the Rolls: President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal, a judge of the
Court of Appeal, and 2nd in judicial importance to the Lord Chief Justice.
President of the Family Division: Head of Family Justice, member of the Court of Appeal.
President of the King’s Bench Division: Head of the KDB, member of the Court of Appeal.
Chancellor of the High Court: Head of the Chancery Division, member of the Court of Appeal.
© Judges:
o County Court: Deputy District Judges, District Judges, Recorders or Circuit Judges.
o High Court: High Court Masters or High Court Judges.
© Solicitors cannot carry out advocacy in the High Court, Court of Appeal or Supreme
Court without taking assessments to gain Higher Rights of Audience.
COSTS
One concern that pervades litigation is the cost of it. A party will incur costs in a number of
ways – e.g. instructing solicitors and barristers and paying court fees.
Parties must always have in mind that they may be ordered to pay an opponent's costs, and
Contents
1. Introduction to dispute resolution
2. Professional conduct
3. Costs
4. Alternative dispute resolution
5. Pre-action considerations and conduct
6. Parties to proceedings
7. Commencing and serving proceedings
8. Responding to proceedings
9. Statements of case
10. Early disposal
11. Interim applications
12. Case management
13. Costs management
14. Disclosure and inspection
15. Witness and expert evidence
16. Settlement
17. Discontinuance
18. Trial
19. Enforcement
20. Appeals
21. Jurisdiction and conflict of laws
, 1. Introduction to dispute resolution
Any kind of litigation which is NOT criminal
Claimant is going to court seeking a remedy from the defendant - often a sum of money
Broad & varied range of subject matter (breach of contract; negligence; PI; property
disputes; custody of a child; divorce; JR; IP)
Pre-action
Pre-action considerations and conduct – parties are expected to try to resolve a
dispute w/o court proceedings (i.e. setting out complaints in a less formal way,
negotiating etc.)
Statements of the case - these DEFINE the scope of the dispute*
Claim form & particulars of claim – this is where the claimants set out the facts
underpinning the claim
Acknowledgement of service and/or admission/defence/defence and
counterclaim
Case management
Court will actively manage a case: sets out a timetable for the case by making a
Directions Order
Court will allocate the case to one of three tracks: 1) Small claims track, 2) Fast
track, or 3) Multi-track [+ will set out directions to guide the claim through these
stages]
Evidence
Disclosure: each party will exchange documents, witness statements and expert
reports
Each stage in preparing your evidence & reviewing evidence from the other side will
be costly so case needs its own bespoke timetable and budget
The court will not leave this entirely to the parties to sort out themselves (case
management)
Trial
The judge has two main roles:
1. To decide on issues of fact that C & D did not agree on & decide on the correct
version
2. To decide on the combination of facts whether it entitles the claimant to the
remedy it says it does
Post-trial
Enforcement: where D is told by the court to award a remedy and has not done
so, the claimant may wish to enforce this order
OR
, Appeal: D may wish to appeal this result
The Civil Court System
© Main civil courts = the County Court and High Court, which are courts of first instance.
© The Court of Appeal and Supreme Court are courts that only hear appeals.
KEY: Claims cannot be commenced in the High Court unless their value is more than
£100,000 (£50,000 or more in the case of PI claims)
County ® ONE, national County Court with 173 ‘hearing centres’ across E & W
Court ® Local hearing centre can be selected for hearings
® Generally used for less complex, lower value claims
High ® Sits in the Royal Courts of Justice in the Strand + 130 District Registries
Court ® Has THREE divisions – King's Bench, Chancery and Family – and specialist courts
/ lists within these divisions.
Highlighted in blue= collectively “Business and Property Courts”. They sit in
London, but some also sit in Birmingham, Bristol, Leeds, Liverpool,
Manchester, Newcastle and Cardiff
KBD Division Chancery Division
“General” KBD list: broad areas, Insolvency and Companies List:
mainly claims for damages in respect ‘personal and corporate insolvency; unfair
of PI, prof. neg, breach of contract, prejudice petitions, shareholders disputes,
non-payment of debt, breach of directors' disqualification, applications
statutory duty under CA 2006.
Administrative Court: lawfulness of Revenue List: major points of principle
acts and omissions of the state (JR) relating to taxation where HMRC = party
, Planning Court: planning permission, Competition List: competition law
highways, rights of way, compulsory
purchase orders. Business List: broad - e.g. business
structure, directors' breach of duty, tort,
Commercial Court: complex cases breach of contract, pensions, financial
arising out of business disputes services.
(arbitration, aviation, banking &
financial markets, fraud, insurance, Property, Trusts and Probate List: land
shipping). Often international. including landlord and tenant,
administration of estates, execution of
Circuit Commercial Courts: trusts, charities, probate.
commercial work - commercial
contracts, sale of goods, insurance, Intellectual Property List:
banking, professional negligence.
Technology & Construction Court:
construction, engineering, computers,
software, environmental, public
procurement.
Admiralty Court: shipping and
maritime.
Straddling BOTH KBD and Chancery Division:
Financial List: hears financial disputes of £50 million or more in value + which
require particular judicial knowledge of financial markets
Court of ® Consists of a Civil Division and a Criminal Division
Appeal ® In practice, the Court of Appeal = final court of appeal for the majority of cases.
Suprem ® At the APEX of legal system - only hears appeals on points of ‘general public
e Court importance’
Particular leadership roles:
Lord Chief Justice: most senior member of the judiciary; represents view to Parliament &
Government + leads in relation to the welfare, training & guidance of the judiciary and the
deployment of judges across England and Wales.
Master of the Rolls: President of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal, a judge of the
Court of Appeal, and 2nd in judicial importance to the Lord Chief Justice.
President of the Family Division: Head of Family Justice, member of the Court of Appeal.
President of the King’s Bench Division: Head of the KDB, member of the Court of Appeal.
Chancellor of the High Court: Head of the Chancery Division, member of the Court of Appeal.
© Judges:
o County Court: Deputy District Judges, District Judges, Recorders or Circuit Judges.
o High Court: High Court Masters or High Court Judges.
© Solicitors cannot carry out advocacy in the High Court, Court of Appeal or Supreme
Court without taking assessments to gain Higher Rights of Audience.
COSTS
One concern that pervades litigation is the cost of it. A party will incur costs in a number of
ways – e.g. instructing solicitors and barristers and paying court fees.
Parties must always have in mind that they may be ordered to pay an opponent's costs, and
