Starting a claim — overviewWhere to start the claim

Claims are started by issuing a claim form at the relevant court, i.e. a division of the High court or the county court. Which court is appropriate will depend upon a number of different factors, including the nature and value of the claim, for example, bankruptcy claims should be issued in the Chancery division of the High Court, whereas broad commercial matters should be issued in the Mercantile court division.

Some restrictions apply as some claims must be issued in certain courts, for example, a claim for a sum of money should be issued in the defendant's home court. If proceedings are issued in the wrong court, the court may transfer the claim to another court.

CPR part 8 claims (alternative procedure for claims)

Part 8 of the Civil Procedure Rules provide a shortened/simpler regime for claims that involve less evidence than other claims, generally those where there is no substantial dispute of fact. In Part 8 claims, certain parts of the CPR to not apply, such as the disclosure provisions. The Practice Direction to Part 8 sets out the types of claims that may be conducted under Part 8, other practice directions may also require the use of Part 8 and practitioners should check when commencing a claim.

Drafting and filing the claim form

The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) provide guidance as to the information that should be included in the statements of case, which includes the claim form. The claim form must contain details of the parties, a concise statement of the nature of the claim and specify the relief being sought. Proceedings are started when the court issues the claim form at the request of the claimant and the claimant pays the appropriate fee. It will normally issue a claim form on the day it receives it. If it is important to establish exactly when the court receives the claim form for example, if a limitation period is about to expire.

Timetable for statements of case

The Civil Procedure Rules set out the timetables that parties must adhere to when issuing and serving claim forms and statements of case. The provisions differ depending on whether the documents are being served in England and Wales, a European territory or any other territory. The court's permission maybe required to serve certain statements of case and the court would set out the timetable for service within the order providing permission.

Public access to court documents and information

The rules vary depending on whether the documents were filed before or after 2 October 2006. Since that date, non parties can access much more information; the statements of case, judgments and orders and other documents and information on the court register. Prior to that date, non parties could only access the claim form unless they had permission of the court for further documents.