The Research And Reference Of The Pre-action Protocols System In England

The Pre-action Protocols System, as the new system, was introduced by Lord Wolfe along with reforming the civil justice in 20 th century in England, it specifies the pre-litigation behaviors for parties to conduct, like the cause of action statement, document disclosure, expert witnesses to ensure the parties having full negotiation, communication and promote the parties reaching a settlement at earlier stage, or help focus on the real point of controversy before litigation for better work efficiency. The Pre-action Protocols System can solve the problems of litigation delays, high litigation costs in the civil justice system in England.The first part of the thesis introduces the background, the design idea and the effect of the Pre-action Protocols System. the Pre-action Protocols System appeared under the background of the contradictions of adversarial litigation model in England becoming more and more prominent, and the judicial resources could not meet the growing demand for litigation. Implementation of the Pre-action Protocols System standardized pre-litigation conduct of the parties, improved the pertinence of parties evidence and cross-examine behavior, directly or indirectly reduced litigation costs, expanded the power of the court case management, and promoted the development of ADR system in England, laid the foundation for the establishment of a harmonious culture of litigation.The second part focuses on the concept,the type and the core requirements of the Pre-action Protocols System, The Pre-action Protocols is essentially a pre-litigation conduct, required parties before the litigation as much as possible mutual understanding, and making a rational choice of dispute resolution method on the basis of a comprehensive understanding of the case to improve the settlement rate, reduced the number of cases into the litigation. The third part elaborates the main content of the Pre-action Protocols System, including the specific provisions of the Pre-action Protocols System and the sanctions for violation of the Pre-action Protocols System. Contents of the Pre-action Protocols System generally included seven aspects: statement causes of action, time limit of defendant’s confirmation and pleading, the contents of defendant’s pleadings, disclosure of documents, selection of expert witnesses, negotiation and alternative dispute resolution methods, litigation cost; the court would impose economic sanctions on them or not to adapt their evidences who violated the provisions of the protocols.The fourth part will compares the Pre-action Protocols System and Pre-trial Evidence-gathering System in Japan, Independent Evidence Investigation System in Germany learning, includes two aspects: links and differences. The Systems of England,Japan and Germany were all conducive to the parties to understand the case before litigation possibly,Systems provided the conditions for two parties to reach a settlement or cleared the focus of controversy, but the System in England compared to the Systems in Japan and Germany more stressed the dispute has been resolved before entering into the litigation. The two systems of Japan and Germany, were selectively applied by parties, without Pre-trial Evidence-gathering procedures or Independent Evidence Investigation procedures, would not be stricken punishment in later proceedings;but if the parties did not abide by the provisions of the Pre-action Protocols and made the dispute enter into the proceeding directly, the parties would be stricken the punishment in later proceeding. The fifth part presents the actual situation of my litigation system, analyses the shortcomings of pre-trial procedure and evidence collection procedures of our civil judicial system, references the Pre-action Protocols System in England and gives some suggestions for improving our justice system.