Court fees for small businesses and personal injury claimants to rise by 600 per cent

court

That’s right – 600 per cent.

People suing for debts or to recover compensation for personal injury may have to pay an up-front fee of £10,000 or more to have access to the courts after the House of Lords approved a statutory instrument implementing the price hike.

The government reckons it will bring an extra £120 million to the Treasury, with justice minister Lord Faulks arguing that the increase would not affect the majority of cases and was necessary to fund the court service.

But Lord Pannick, arguing against the change, warned it would do “inevitable and substantial damage to access to justice” and that it was “simply perverse for the government to dispute that many small businesses and many personal injury claimants are going to be unable to pay an upfront £10,000 fee as the price of access to the courts”.

He has pledged to continue the fight, hoping that the rise will be ruled unlawful by the courts. The Law Society has launched a judicial review against the fees increase, and the hike is unpopular across the legal profession.

Full details are in the New Law Journal.

Vox Political agrees with Pride’s Purge on the effect:

It seems in Cameron and Clegg’s Britain, justice is now only for the rich.

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9 Comments

  1. pkirkman March 10, 2015 at 2:39 pm - Reply

    So this follows the “secret” meeting between insurance bodies and government last year to help insurance companies combat the “no win no fee” accident claims!

    • Mike Sivier March 10, 2015 at 2:57 pm - Reply

      Interesting!
      But I have no idea if you’re right.

  2. pkirkman March 10, 2015 at 3:13 pm - Reply

    I refer to your blog re minutes of the May 19 meeting mysteriously appearing briefly in the Commons library. Remember?

    • Mike Sivier March 10, 2015 at 3:37 pm - Reply

      I may have to look it up!

  3. Thomas March 10, 2015 at 3:57 pm - Reply

    It will mean that the rich can just laugh at the poor and at small businesses wanting to be paid. Either the court fees will be so much that they can’t afford it. or they’ll go ahead as litigants in person and be far more likely to lose their cases and have to pay both side’s costs. Small businesses might go bankrupt because of this, meaning more workfare people or more homeless people.

  4. Jim Round March 10, 2015 at 4:41 pm - Reply

    This is, as pkirkman says, the kneejerk and entirely wrong response to so called ambulance chaser, tv advertising lawyers.
    As usual, those genuinely injured will be the ones who will suffer if this goes through.

    • Mike Sivier March 11, 2015 at 12:46 am - Reply

      It has gone through.

  5. joanna may March 10, 2015 at 8:35 pm - Reply

    what is the point of the Magna Carta anymore? Isn’t that supposed to be our bill of rights?

  6. Joy Morby March 11, 2015 at 9:43 am - Reply

    Once again, this government is picking on the little guy.all in this together,my eye

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