ENGLAND & WALES Law and Practice Contributed by: Damian Taylor, Olga Ladrowska, Lawal Ijaodola and Eleanor Higginson, Slaughter and May
7.2 Case Management Hearings Shorter hearings for applications or case man- agement issues may involve only oral submis- sions, without any presentation of evidence. The court will usually order one or more case management conferences (CMCs) before trial. The first CMC will usually take place after the exchange of pleadings. At a CMC, the court may, after hearing submissions from the litigants, give directions regarding the timetable to trial, among other things. 7.3 Jury Trials in Civil Cases Jury trials are generally not available in most civil cases. However, there are some excep- tions, including defamation cases, where a jury trial may be requested. 7.4 Rules That Govern Admission of Evidence The admission of evidence is governed by case law, statute and the rules of court. The underly- ing principle of admissibility is relevance, which means that the evidence goes to the issues in dispute. If evidence is relevant, it will be admis- sible, unless it falls within an exclusionary rule or is excluded by the court in the exercise of its discretion. There are a number of reasons why evidence might be excluded, including that it is opinion evidence provided by a witness who is not sufficiently qualified to provide that opinion, or that it is subject to legal privilege. 7.5 Expert Testimony Expert testimony may be permitted by the court if it is reasonably required to resolve issues in the proceedings. A litigant intending to rely on expert testimony must seek the court’s permis- sion. Typically, each litigant engages their own experts, who provide opinions based on their relevant expertise. However, in some circum-
those parties are subject to the jurisdiction of the court. By way of example, freezing orders may be made against a third party that controls assets on behalf of a person that is the subject of a freezing order. 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non-compliance Breach of the terms of an injunction can lead to a party being held in contempt of court, which can lead to fines, confiscation of assets and imprisonment. Trials typically involve oral submissions and presentation of evidence (from both factual and expert witnesses). The trial begins with each litigant presenting their opening oral submis- sions, which are typically supplemented by written submissions that are filed with the court shortly before the commencement of trial. Fol- lowing this, each litigant presents their factual and expert witnesses for examination-in-chief and cross-examination. During examination-in- chief, witnesses usually adopt their prior writ- ten witness statements, and experts adopt their reports. During cross-examination, the other side has an opportunity to test and seek to undermine the evidence given in chief. 7. Trials and Hearings 7.1 Trial Proceedings Following the examination of witnesses, litigants provide closing oral submissions, which (simi- larly to opening oral submissions) are typically supplemented by written closing submissions. A final judgment is then delivered by the court.
421 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook