Civil Courts (Litigation) Disadvantages

• Cost

  Usual rule is that the loser pays the winner’s costs. The complexity of the civil courts procedure means that lawyers are usually needed and this is expensive. The costs can quickly be greater than the value of the claim.

  Lord Woolf’s review found that one sides’ costs exceeded the amount of the dispute in over 40% of claims. In the libel case brought by Naomi Campbell against the Mirror newspaper (Campbell v MGN, 2005), she was awarded £3,000 in damages, but her legal costs, which the Mirror had to pay, came to over £1.5 million-in addition to its own legal fees.
• Slow Process

  Even in fast- track cases, it takes 30 weeks to get to trial. Multi-track and high court cases take longer. Often, lawyers agree to extend time limits so they can negotiate and this can also delay a final decision at trial. There is also a lack of flexibility in the litigation process with limited remedies; for example, an apology cannot be ordered by the court
• Adversarial

  Adversarial process which is about “winning”; it is not about getting to the truth. CPR tries to stop tactical moves by lawyers but these continue. Also, case management by judges under CPR is not always effective. Under pre-action protocols, significant costs are incurred (medical reports) before a claim is issued.
• Uncertainty

  There is no guarantee of winning a case. Lawyers warn clients that they cannot predict how the evidence will turn out in court.