§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Why the new Civil Procedure Rules abolish the Old English word "writ" and the mediaeval Latin word "affidavit" while preserving the legal Latin word "certiorari" and the legal Latin word "mandamus". [HL1281]
§ The Lord Chancellor (Lord Irvine of Lairg)The aim of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee, in accordance with the Civil Procedure Act, was to provide unified rules "which are both simple and simply expressed" for all the civil courts. The committee has sought to modernise terminology, not dogmatically, but where it is useful to do so. "Writ" refers only to the High Court and has been replaced by "claim form" in the unified rules. "Affidavit" has not been abolished, but a guide to its meaning may be found in the glossary to the new rules. The terms "certiorari" and "mandamus" are contained in RSC Order 53, which the committee has not yet considered.