§ 34. Mr. Andrew Dismore (Hendon)If he will make a statement on progress in the implementation of the Civil Justice Review. [56137]
§ The Minister of State, Lord Chancellor's Department (Mr. Geoffrey Hoon)Our plans for introducing the first phase of civil justice reforms on 26 April 1999 are on target. The new rules will be finalised by the Civil Procedure Rules Committee this month. After approval by the Lord Chancellor they will be laid before Parliament in December. We plan to publish them with supporting practice directions and key forms in January 1999.
The latest edition of the Lord Chancellor's Department's bulletin, "Implementing Civil Justice Reform" contains further details of the work in hand and will be available in the Library today.
§ Mr. DismoreDoes my hon. Friend agree with my view—from experience of 20 years in practice—that the reforms will necessitate quite substantial retraining and re-education for practitioners and some re-tooling in terms of new technology? What assistance will his Department give practitioners to meet the deadline for the introduction of the new rules?
§ Mr. HoonThe latest draft rules have been available on the Department's website and in hard copy form since July, so practitioners have had a great deal of time to prepare themselves. There is no reason why the reforms should not go ahead as planned in April. Indeed, any delay would cause uncertainty to the practitioners about whom my hon. Friend is concerned.