Summary Judgment - Incoming Changes to CPR 24
With effect from 1 October 2023, CPR Practice Direction 24 shall be revoked, pursuant to the 158th Practice Direction Update.
Further, a new version of Part 24 shall enter into force on 1 October, under the Civil Procedure (Amendment No.3) Rules 2023 at Schedule 2.
The changes are being made in pursuit of the CPR Committee's objective at section 2(7) of the Civil Procedure Act 1997, to "try to make rules which are both simple and simply expressed."
The revised Part 24 encapsulates the most pertinent elements of the soon-to-be-revoked Practice Direction. The test in the revised version of Part 24 is featured at new CPR r.24.3. It remains materially the same as the current test, requiring there to be no real prospect of success on the claim, defence or issue, and no other compelling reason to dispose of the case or issue at a trial.
Requirements regarding the contents of the application notice are contained in r.24.5(1). In particular, r.24.5(1)(f) requires the application notice to draw the respondent’s attention to their right to rely on evidence opposing the application.
The deadlines for evidence are found at r.24.5(3). If the Court fixes the hearing for summary judgment of its own volition, either of the parties must file and serve evidence 7 days before the hearing. The respondent must also meet this deadline if the hearing is fixed as a result of the applicant's application. If fixed by the Court of its own volition, reply evidence from either party must be filed and served at least 3 days prior to the hearing. This same deadline also applies to any reply evidence from an applicant, if the hearing was not fixed by the Court of its own initiative.
The simplified and condensed version of the summary judgment regime retains the existing test and evidential requirements, whilst making the procedure easier to understand for litigants, whether represented or not.