The Civil Procedure Rules 1998

[F1 Supplementary provisions where applications for default judgment are made E+W

12.12.— (1) Where the claimant makes an application for a default judgment, the court shall give such judgment as the claimant is entitled to on the statement of case.

(2) Any evidence relied on by the claimant in support of their application need not be served on a party who has failed to file an acknowledgment of service.

(3) An application for a default judgment on a claim against a child or protected party or a claim in tort between spouses or civil partners must be supported by evidence.

(4) On an application against a child or protected party, a litigation friend must be appointed by the court to act on behalf of the child or protected party before judgment can be obtained.

(5) An application for a default judgment may be made without notice if—

(a) the claim under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982 or the 2005 Hague Convention or made in respect of a contract which provides that the court shall have jurisdiction to determine each claim made against the defendant to be served was served in accordance with rules 6.32(1) or 6.33(2B) as appropriate;

(b) the defendant has failed to file an acknowledgment of service; and

(c) notice does not need to be given under any other provision of these Rules.

(6) Both on a request and on an application for default judgment the court must be satisfied that—

(a) the particulars of claim have been served on the defendant (a certificate of service on the court file will be sufficient evidence);

(b) either the defendant has not filed an acknowledgment of service or has not filed a defence and that in either case the relevant period for doing so has expired;

(c) the defendant has not satisfied the claim; and

(d) the defendant has not [F2 admitted liability to pay all the money claimed and requested time to pay].

(7) On an application where the defendant was served with the claim either—

(a) outside the jurisdiction without leave under the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, the 2005 Hague Convention, the Lugano Convention or the Judgments Regulation; or

(b) within the jurisdiction but when domiciled in Scotland or Northern Ireland or in any other Convention territory or Member State,

and the defendant has not acknowledged service, the evidence must establish that—

(i) the claim is one that the court has power to hear and decide;

(ii) no other court has exclusive jurisdiction under the Act, the 2005 Hague Convention, the Lugano Convention or Judgments Regulation to hear and decide the claim; and

(iii) the claim has been properly served in accordance with Article 20 of Schedule 1 to the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act, Article 9(c) of the 2005 Hague Convention, Article 26 of the Lugano Convention, paragraph 15 of Schedule 4 to the Act, or Article 26 of the Judgments Regulation.

(8) Where an application is made against a State for a default judgment where the defendant has failed to file an acknowledgment of service—

(a) the application may be made without notice, but the court hearing the application may direct that a copy of the application notice is served on the State;

(b) if the court—

(i) grants the application; or

(ii) directs that a copy of the application notice be served on the State,

the judgment or application notice (and the supporting evidence) may be served out of the jurisdiction without any further order;

(c) where paragraph [F3 (8)(b)] permits a judgment or an application notice to be served out of the jurisdiction, the procedure for serving the judgment or the application notice is the same as for serving a claim form under Section III of Part 6 except where an alternative method of service has been agreed under section 12(6) of the State Immunity Act 1978.

(Rule 23.1 defines ‘application notice’.)

(9) On an application against a State, the evidence must be way of affidavit and must—

(a) set out the grounds of the application;

(b) establish the facts proving that the State is excepted from the immunity conferred by section 1 of the State Immunity Act 1978;

(c) establish that the claim was sent through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State or, where the State has agreed to another form of service, that the claim was served in the manner agreed; and

(d) establish that the time for acknowledging service (which is extended to two months by section 12(2) of the Act when the claim is sent through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State) has expired.

(See rule 40.10 for when default judgment against a State takes effect.)

(10) For the purposes of this rule and rule 12.11—

(a) ‘domicile’ is to be determined—

(i) in relation to a Convention territory, in accordance with sections 41 to 46 of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982;

(ii) in relation to a Member State, in accordance with the Judgments Regulation and paragraphs 9 to 12 of Schedule 1 to the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Order 2001;

(b) ‘Convention territory’ means the territory or territories of any Contracting State, as defined by section 1(3) of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982, to which the Brussels Conventions or Lugano Convention apply;

(c) ‘State’ has the meaning given by section 14 of the State Immunity Act 1978;

(d) ‘Diplomatic agent’ has the meaning given by Article 1(e) of Schedule 1 to the Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964;

(e) ‘the Judgments Regulation’ means Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001 of 22nd December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, as amended from time to time and as applied by the Agreement made on 19th October 2005 between the European Community and the Kingdom of Denmark on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters; and

(f) ‘the Lugano Convention’ means the Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, between the European Community and the Republic of Iceland, the Kingdom of Norway, the Swiss Confederation and the Kingdom of Denmark and signed by the European Community on 30th October 2007; (g) ‘the 2005 Hague Convention’ means the Convention on Choice of Court Agreements concluded on 30th June 2005 at the Hague.

(11) Where default judgment is given on a claim for a sum of money expressed in a foreign currency, the judgment should be for the amount of the foreign currency with the addition of ‘or the Sterling equivalent at the time of payment’.

(12) On an application for judgment for delivery up of goods where the defendant will not be given the alternative of paying their value, the evidence must identify the goods and state where the claimant believes the goods to be situated and why their specific delivery up is sought.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Pt. 12 substituted (with application in accordance with rule 1(2) of the amending S.I.) by The Civil Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2022 (S.I. 2022/101), Sch. 2

F2 Words in rule 12.12(6)(d) substituted (1.10.2023 immediately after S.I. 2023/572 comes into force) by The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2023 (S.I. 2023/788), rules 1(1), 5(2)

F3 Word in rule 12.12(8)(c) substituted (1.10.2022) by The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 2) Rules 2022 (S.I. 2022/783), rules 1(1), 10(4)