Judges’ plan to overhaul legal system set to anger lawyers

A GROUP of senior judges has recommended penalties for all parties in personal injury cases who falsify or exaggerate claims, delay proceedings or create unnecessary expense.

In a report set to cause tension between the legal profession and the judiciary, the high-powered group also want responsibility for case management taken out of the hands of solicitors and given over to judges or senior court officials.

This would mean solicitors would be told what preparatory work was necessary and would be subjected to strict deadlines, limiting the scope for unforeseen hold-ups, deliberate delays and non-essential paper-chasing.

The report, to be published today, follows a year-long review by the Committee on Court Practice and Procedure headed by Supreme Court judge, Mrs Justice Susan Denham, who said: “There is a responsibility on us all in the legal community to ensure an ease of access to the courts system.

“Those who seek redress before our courts should be facilitated by modern systems, rules and practices which protect them from lengthy delays and excessive costs.”

The report has been presented to the Minister for Justice but the Superior Court Rules Committee does not need Government approval to make the changes urged by Justice Denham’s grouping.

Only the Minister can sanction the appointment of extra judges, however, and the Alliance for Insurance Reform, which campaigns against compo-culture, said Justice Denham’s amendments would be hard to implement without additional resources.

Alliance chairman, Gerry McCaughey, also said he was concerned by the proposal to reduce the time allowed for lodging a claim from three years to two years when the long awaited Civil Liability Bill making its way through the Oireachtas recommended a deadline of one year.

Also among the 23 recommendations is a specific rule penalising parties who insist on calling unnecessary “expert” witnesses, and a system of publishing all awards made to plaintiffs to encourage consistency across the courts. The changes would apply to all cases which fail to reach settlement through the recently established Personal Injuries Assessment Board.

Law Society director general, Ken Murphy, said he could not comment until he had read the report in full.