The end of the feast.(Lord Woolf's report on civil-justice reform in the UK)

From: The Economist (US) | Date: July 27, 1996 | Copyright information

The UK's top civil judge reported on ways to speed Britain's civil trials and cut costs. Lord Woolf's recommendations include procedural judges to handle the pre-trial phase of big cases, limits on trial length and lawyers fees, and medical evidence presented first in malpractice cases.

Run by a closed shop, free from foreign competition, untouched by technological progress, protected by its lobbying power, the civil-justice system has resisted change throughout the century. Now pressure is coming from the top civil judge, Lord Woolf.

THIS is an ordinary case of simple libel," said the ...

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