§ 42. Mr. Neil Hamiltonasked the Attorney-General if he has any plans to seek to change the speed with which cases come to trial in the Queen's Bench division of the High Court.
§ The Solicitor-General (Sir Patrick Mayhew)In February 1985 the Lord Chancellor set up a major review of civil justice in England and Wales with the object of bringing about reforms which would reduce the delays in and complexity of civil litigation. The review is expected to be completed by the end of this year.
§ Mr. HamiltonI thank my right hon. and learned Friend for his reply. Although the law's delay is a cliché which has been with us for hundreds of years, is my right hon. and learned Friend aware that cases in the Queen's Bench division now seem to take quite insupportable periods of time before they reach court? In my case against the BBC not so long ago we set down the action for trial in November 1984 and we came to court in October 1986. That can hardly be regarded as satisfactory.
§ The Solicitor-GeneralI am, indeed, aware, as is my noble Friend the Lord Chancellor, of the very undesirable length of time that is taken for many cases in London to come to court after having been set down. In the provinces there is a much more favourable picture. Cases that are 686 estimated to take a long time to try take longer to come to court. My hon. Friend's case was estimated as a six weeks' trial. In the event it was settled after six days, in circumstances that we remember.