Woolf reforms to civil procedure
On 26 April 1999, following reforms proposed by Lord Woolf MR, the rules of procedure for the High Court (RSC) and the county court (CCR) were replaced by a new unified system, the Civil Procedure Rules, or CPR. These rules have no direct application to coroners' courts (which are governed by the Coroners Rules 1984). But they will apply to any applications to the High Court for review of an inquest or a coroner's decision, and to any subsequent application or appeal to the Court of Appeal.
Initially, however, the impact of the CPR on coroners was muted, because the text of the old rules relating to judicial review (RSC Ord 53), to applications under the Coroners Act 1988, s 13 (RSC Ord 94, r 14) and to appeals to the Court of Appeal from the High Court (RSC Ord 59) was for the time being retained - using the old numbering - as part of the CPR, Schedule 1. But now most of the old rules have been absorbed into the CPR, so that judicial review is governed by CPR Part 54, and appeals are governed by CPR Part 52. Only applications under Coroners Act 1988, s 13, continue to be governed by a modified form of RSC Ord 94 rule 14, still in Schedule 1 to the CPR.
There are a number of websites dealing with Woolf. Among them are Beagle,
Lawonline and YAWS.
For more information on reviewing coroners' decisions, click
here.
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Last modified: Monday, 09-Aug-2004 08:53:22 BST by: Malcolm Bishop