Fixed recoverable costs: July 2017

Lord Justice Jackson has been commissioned to undertake a review of fixed recoverable costs, to be completed by 31 July 2017.

The review was commissioned by Lord Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice, and Sir Terence Etherton, the Master of the Rolls. The review’s recommendations will help to inform a Government public consultation on reforms to extend fixed recoverable costs to further areas of civil litigation.

The terms of reference for the review are:

1. To develop proposals for extending the present civil fixed recoverable costs regime in England and Wales so as to make the costs of going to court more certain, transparent and proportionate for litigants.
   
   
2. To consider the types and areas of litigation in which such costs should be extended, and the value of claims to which such a regime should apply.
   
   
3. To report to the Lord Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls by the 31st July 2017.

We do not expect this piece of work to be delayed by recent political events; it is essentially a de-politicised report being taken forward by the judiciary. The expectation is that the Ministry of Justice will consult upon the report perhaps as early as this Autumn.

Lord Justice Jackson invited written evidence or submissions to assist the review in January 2017. The Keoghs’ Market Affairs Team is keeping close to developments, through its contacts with Ministry of Justice officials and the ABI. Some examples of our work on this issue:

• The Keoghs draft submission was provided to key client contacts with plenty of time before the 23 January deadline (emailed on 5 January).
  
  
• The Keoghs Market Affairs Team hosted a roundtable event with Lord Justice Jackson on 10 January 2017.
  
  
• Samantha Ramen meets regularly with Robert Wright, a senior civil servant responsible for civil litigation costs and funding at the Ministry of Justice. This enables the Market Affairs team to stay close to developments and Government thinking on the subject.