The government has announced that the judicial review launched by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and the Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) will be fast tracked through the High Court to ensure it is completed before the introduction of the Jackson Reforms on the 1st April.
It is usual practice for the High Court to deal with a Judicial Reviews over 2 separate hearings over two different dates. But in this case the two hearings will take place consecutively providing APIL and MASS are successfully granted permission to challenge the proposals to cut fixed costs in personal injury claims.
The order was made by the Administrative Court’s own motion on the 6th February as directed by the President of the Queen’s bench division and the case itself will be hear on the 1st March, a month before the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders act (LASPO) deadline.
The Judicial Review was called for after the government announced proposals to set new fixed costs of £500 for claims under £10,000 through the portal and set up a consultation that ended on 4th June.
The concerns raised as a result by the personal injury industry is that it would effectively deny the genuine victim of an accident that falls into this category their right to their access to justice as well as lead to major redundancies within the personal injury sector itself.
Another recent issue has been the proposed plans to extend the portal which was postponed just before Christmas. This week the Ministry of Justice continued to remain silence in regards to a new implementation date for the extension which is an ongoing concern as it was believed a decision would be taken in the New Year.
Image source(s)
1. APIL; https://www.apil.org.uk/