ABSTRACT
Historically, change has come very slowly and gradually to the legal system. According to the Civil Justice Review 1988, delay in litigation ‘causes continuing personal stress, anxiety and financial hardship to ordinary people and their families. It is worth noting here that district judges and deputy district judges have had extensive training to promote a common approach. Training is being taken very seriously by the judiciary. District judges now occupy a pivotal position in the civil process. Practice directions play an important role in the civil process. The pre-action protocols are an important feature of the reforms. They are intended to improve pre-action contact between the parties and to facilitate better exchange of information and fuller investigation of a claim at an earlier stage. In March 1994 the whole process began again with the Lord Chancellor setting up the Woolf Inquiry to look at ways of improving the speed and accessibility of civil proceedings, and of reducing their cost.
