A Model Civil Procedure Code for England and Wales

Abstract

Civil procedure law is integral to our understanding of access to justice, dispute resolution, and ultimately the rule of law. However, the field is rapidly changing, shifting dispute resolution away from courts and judgments, towards other legal pathways such as negotiation, mediation, arbitration, and Ombudsman. Similarly, the increasing digitisation of society and looming potential of AI will profoundly influence future reforms. Civil justice is thus at a critical turning point. In response to these developments, John Sorabji proposes a new model civil procedure code for England and Wales. Building on the work of the ALI/UNIDROIT Principles of Transnational Civil Procedure and the ELI-UNIDROIT Model European Rules of Civil Procedure, he articulates a simplified, principle-based, seventeen-part approach that covers all major stages from issue to enforcement, with sections on costs and funding, provisional measures, access to evidence and privileges, case statements, hearings, and dispute management.