Rule 3: The Tribunal Procedure (First-tier Tribunal)(Property Chamber) Rules 2013/1169: Overriding objective and parties’ obligation to co-operate with the Tribunal

(1)   The overriding objective of these Rules is to enable the Tribunal to deal with cases fairly and justly.

(2)   Dealing with a case fairly and justly includes—

(a)    dealing with the case in ways which are proportionate to the importance of the case, the complexity of the issues, the anticipated costs and the resources of the parties and of the Tribunal;

(b)   avoiding unnecessary formality and seeking flexibility in the proceedings;

(c)    ensuring, so far as practicable, that the parties are able to participate fully in the proceedings;

(d)   using any special expertise of the Tribunal effectively; and

(e)    avoiding delay, so far as compatible with proper consideration of the issues.

(3)   The Tribunal must seek to give effect to the overriding objective when it—

(a)    exercises any power under these Rules; or

(b)   interprets any rule or practice direction.

(4)   Parties must—

(a)    help the Tribunal to further the overriding objective; and

(b)   co-operate with the Tribunal generally.

Those of us who are familiar with the Civil Procedure Rules (the “CPR”) will recognise much of the above, but the previous, LVT Procedure Regulations did not contain any statement of intent of this nature.

There are however differences between this overriding objective and the CPR. Avoiding unnecessary formality and seeking flexibility do not appear in the CPR, nor, for obvious reasons to do with the First-tier Tribunal’s specialist knowledge, does rule 2(d), i.e. using the special expertise of the Tribunal effectively.

In terms of observations on the overriding objective, I defer to Lord Woolf, who, in his Access to Justice Report of July 1996, wrote the following on the role and purpose of the incoming Civil Procedure Rules:

1. “Every word in the rules should have a purpose, but every word cannot sensibly be given a minutely exact meaning. Civil procedure involves more judgment and knowledge than the rules can directly express. In this respect, rules of court are not like an instruction manual for operating a piece of machinery. Ultimately their purpose is to guide the court and the litigants towards the just resolution of the case. Although the rules can offer detailed directions for the technical steps to be taken, the effectiveness of those steps depends upon the spirit in which they are carried out. That in turn depends on an understanding of the fundamental purpose of the rules and of the underlying system of procedure.
2. “In order to identify that purpose at the outset, I have placed at the very beginning of the rules a statement of their overriding objective. This is intended to govern the operation of all the rules and in particular the choices which the court makes in managing each case and in interpreting the rules.
3. “The new rules are deliberately not designed expressly to answer every question which could arise. Rule 1, the statement of the objective, provides a compass to guide courts and litigants and legal advisers as to their general course. Where detailed instructions are needed, matters of general application will be dealt with in the rules; other matters will, I hope, be capable of being dealt with in practice directions and practice guides.”