Civil Court Users Association (CCUA) has responded to the Civil Justice Council’s call for evidence on enforcement.
The CCUA has long argued that enforcement provides by far the greatest scope for improvement within the Civil Courts. Justice requires that any Judgment should be enforceable in an effective, efficient but proportionate manner. Anything less risks reputational damage to the courts or even bringing the system to disrepute. The need for reform of enforcement was a key finding of the Civil Justice Review conducted by Lord Justice Briggs almost a decade ago. It is high time that the inadequacies of the system were tackled.
One of the biggest improvements would be access to information to enable quality decisions to be made regarding the method of enforcement to be employed, or even to decide whether it is worth enforcing at all. Information Orders are already on the statute book under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (“TCEA 2007”). Their introduction could be hugely beneficial to the process.
