Guidance

Practice Direction update 130: Civil Procedure Rules (51R and 51S)

Practice Direction update to the Civil Procedure Rules relating to Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot (51R) and County Court Online Pilot Scheme (51S). Changes come into effect on 24 May 2021.

• From: Civil Procedure Rule Committee and Ministry of Justice
• Published: 11 May 2021

Applies to England and Wales

Documents

130th PD making document

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Details

The following changes come into effect from 11am, 24 May 2021.

PD51R – Online Civil Money Claims (OCMC) Pilot Scheme

• Extends the operation on the pilot for 2 years, until 30 November 2023.
• Amends Section 6 and paragraphs 10.1 and 10.3 to provide for the Mediation opt-out extension. At present, if a claim is for an amount exceeding £500, parties have to opt into mediation if they would like to take part. For claims of £500 or less, parties are required to opt out. The amendment extends it so that all claims have an opt out approach to mediation.
• Debt Respite Scheme (Breathing Space Moratorium and Mental Health Crisis Moratorium) (England and Wales) Regulations 2020 (Breathing Space Regulations) - amendments to paragraph 11.1 to accommodate the Breathing Space Regulations. Namely, if a claimant wishes to obtain default judgment in relation to a debt covered by a moratorium under the Breathing Space Regulations, the request must be made by application under the mainstream CPR Part 23, rather than by using the automatic request function in OCMC.
• Introduces a new paragraph 16A.1 to clarify that the court may refer a matter to a judge (or where appropriate a legal adviser) operating within the pilot for an order or directions about the management of the claim, and that the order or directions can be made without always having to send the claim out of the pilot first.

PD51S - The County Court Online Pilot Scheme

• Extends the operation of the pilot for 12 months, until 30 November 2022.

Published 11 May 2021