Flying in the face of the Magna Carta there will be a dramatic increase of up to 600% in court fees from next week.
Following a final debate in the House of Lords this week, Parliament has confirmed the controversial decision to dramatically increase the civil court fees for money claims over £20,000 from Monday 9 March 2015.
The rise in court fees is due to affect money claims, both 'specified' and 'unspecified'. The new fee will increase fees for claims over £10,000 to 5% of the value of the claim, capped at £10,000 for claims of £200,000 and over.
The rules are to be implemented despite mounting objection, increasing the chances of a judicial review challenge. The Law Society have recently called for such a review, claiming the new fees would be tantamount to ‘selling justice’, contrary to the principles of Magna Carta.
The enhanced fee schedule means the claimant would pay up to seven times as much in court fees for some values of claim. For example if you issued proceedings against someone this week and claim £200,000, you will have to pay a court fee of £1,315. From next week, that fee goes up to £10,000.
Claimants are expected to rush to the courts this week in order to avoid the increase.
For more information on settling or defending claims please contact Robert Cherry, Dispute Resolution Partner.