The common law and its development

Until the 1990s any case with a value of 5000 or more could be brought in the High Court. In 1991 County Courts were authorised to award rmlimited damages. To start a personal injury claim in the High Court, the claimant had to certify thaf fhe value of tiie case was at least 50000. The result has been that the vast majority of personal injury litigation is now run in the County Courts and for claims worth up to about 100000 there would have to be some difficult point of law involved to warrant a High Court action. 

In 1999 all the Rules governing the conduct of litigation, contained in what is known as the White Book, were revised when the new Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) were introduced xmder Lord Woolf s reforms. 

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