Court fee changes
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has now announced a series of changes to the level of fees in the civil courts. The changes are aimed at achieving a greater level of costs recovery from court users, while the MoJ has reserved judgment on whether to charge enhanced fees for high-value commercial claims.
The changes will come into effect on 22nd April 2014 and include reductions and exemptions for family law cases, with increases for money claims and other hearings including judicial review hearings.
The fee for non-money claims for damages valued between £5,000 and £10,000 increased from £245 to £445, while claims over £300,000 will be charged an additional £200 fee to a maximum level of £1,870.
The changes also increased fees for cases involving claims for money, on a sliding scale with a maximum fee of £1,920, while also introducing a standard fee of £280 for civil non-money cases – instead of the current mixture of fees.
Allocation fees and listing fees will be scrapped as a result of these changes although Hearing fees will still be payable; there are small increases in most other fees charged for High Court and County Court matters including determination of costs proceedings (detailed assessments) although Hearing fees are to remain unchanged.
The changes included scrapping the £75 application fee for domestic violence injunctions, and retaining existing levels of fees for sensitive family law cases, including adoption applications and child contact.
Details of the new fees and the policy behind the rises can be found on the MoJ’s website. The precise table of fees can be seen at Annex A.
