Litigation
Disputes & Litigation

There are four methods by which commercial disputes may be resolved. Arbitration, negotiation, alternative dispute resolution and litigation. Commercial litigation is a court based dispute resolution process, characterised by preparation of formal pleadings by the parties to the litigation (called 'particulars of claim', 'defence', and 'counterclaim' amongst other documents).

When a person commences litigation under Part 7 of the Civil Procedure Rules, the claimant must file and serve particulars of claim which set out the facts (and sometimes the law) that underlie the cause of action and relied upon by the claimant in making its claim. The particulars of claim also set out the relief or remedies sought by the claimant in the legal proceedings (which may be an injunction, an award of damages, an account of profits, an order for delivery up, amongst others). The Defence sets out the defendant's answer to the claims set out in the particulars of claim that are recognised at law, whether they are complete defences, partial defences or mitigate the damage alleged to have been suffered by the claimant.

The Civil Procedure Rules provides an alternative form of proceedings in the UK. They are commenced under Part 8 of the Rules and are essentially designed to allow litigants to approach the court to answer a question of law, and make a declaration of the rights of the litigants.  There are a number of requirements to commence under this Part, one of which is that there is no substantial dispute as to the facts.

Under Part 7, after the pre-trial procedures have taken place, such as disclosure and preparation of expert and lay evidence, the dispute is most often heard by a judge sitting alone, without a jury. The judge in these circumstances hears argument from both the claimant and the defendant and then determines all issues of fact and law. The proceedings take an abridged form, and tend to be conducted more quickly than litigation commenced under Part 7 and with less expense.

Litigation in the UK is conducted in accordance with the Civil Procedure Rules. Legal representatives' conduct is regulated by the Bar Standards Board and the Solicitors Regulation Authority. In essence, these sets of rules are designed to ensure that the litigation is conducted fairly, with no favour or advantage to either or any party to the litigation.