Web alert: Extended fixed costs regime in UK courts?

On 28 January 2016 Lord Justice Jackson delivered a lecture to the Insolvency Practitioners Association arguing that the existing fixed costs regime in England and Wales needed extending and suggesting that it could eventually apply to all claims.

Lord Justice Jackson argued that fixed costs ensure that a party’s recoverable costs and its adverse costs risk are proportionate to the subject matter of the litigation and the value of the claim which, crucially, assist in ensuring justice is delivered as litigants are not deterred from pursuing valid claims due to disproportionate costs.

Jackson LJ points to Germany and New Zealand which already have fixed fees for all civil claims regardless of claim value and suggests that if incremental extensions to the fixed fee regime in England and Wales are successful then a fixed costs regime applicable to all claims should be considered.

Implementation of an extended fixed costs regime would provide more legal spend predictability for members when considering making or defending claims in the English and Welsh courts including avoiding the expense of costs budgeting. ​