The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2009

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of these Rules)

These Rules amend the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 in that they—

• amend rules 6.3, 6.20, 49 and 74.6 as a consequence of the remaining provisions of the Companies Act 2006 (c. 46) being brought into force;

• amend rules 6.52, 34.19, 43.2, 47.4, 52.16, 74.15, 74.25, RSC Order 46 rule 6, RSC Order 79 rule 9, RSC Order 109 rules 1, 3 and 4 and CCR Order 1 rule 6 by changing references to the Supreme Court, the House of Lords and related references following the establishment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the abolition of the appellate jurisdiction of the House of Lords by the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c. 4);

• amend Part 35 by—

  • providing a new definition of ‘expert’ and defining a ‘single joint expert’;

  • providing, in small claims track or fast track cases, that permission will normally only be given to call expert evidence on a particular issue from one expert (rule 35.4(3A));

  • making provision for written questions to experts to be proportionate; and

  • making consequential amendments;

• amend Part 44 to make it clear that in relation to publication cases (defamation and similar cases) insurance premiums for what is commonly known as an after-the-event (“ATE”) insurance policy cannot be recovered for any period if the information about the insurance policy required elsewhere was not given as so required, and to provide that an ATE insurance premium cannot be recovered in costs-only proceedings by a party if an admission of liability leading to settlement was made by the other party within 42 days of being given the required information;

• amend rule 55.10 so that a claimant in possession proceedings must send a notice to the property addressed to the “tenant or the occupier”, and must notify the local authority within which the property is located of the possession proceedings;

• substitute a new Part 63 (Intellectual Property Claims);

• re-insert Section IV of Part 65 concerning Drinking Banning Orders under the Violent Crime Reduction Act 2006 (c. 38).

• amend Part 68 in relation to a reference to the European Court and a request by the court that a preliminary ruling be dealt with under the European Court’s urgent preliminary ruling procedure;

• amend rule 76.10(2)(b) to reflect the amendment to section 3(7) of and the insertion of section 3(7A) into the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 (c. 2) by section 80 of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 (c. 28);

• amend rule 76.19 as a consequence of paragraph 5(4) of the Schedule to the Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 as inserted by section 81(3) of the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008;

• amend rule 76.26 by inserting a new paragraph (5A) to provide that a special advocate is entitled to adduce evidence and to cross-examine witnesses and make a small consequential amendment to rule 76.24(b);

• amend rule 79.22 by inserting a new paragraph (4A) for consistency with the insertion of a new paragraph (5A) into rule 76.26; and

• insert a new Section 5 into Part 79 to provide for applications for notification orders as a result of the provisions of Schedule 4 to the Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 with consequential amendments to the heading to Part 79, the table of contents in Part 79 and rules 79.1(1), 79.15, 79.17(1), 79.18(1) and (3), 79.22(1) and (2), 79.23(1)(a), (3) and (4), 79.28(1), 79.29(1) and 79.30.