What price civil justice ? Brian

In the jurisdictions both of England and Wales and of Scotland, the civil justice system is currently the subject of intense critical appraisal. This paper considers the current status of civil justice, beginning by asking what we expect from our system of civil justice and going on to analyse the supply and demand of civil legal services in market terms. The authors conclude that there is scope in the system for substantial experimentation with procedural reform. They suggest that as much as possible should be done to encourage the development of a cafeteria-style of civil justice system with improved information flows for consumers, and provision for innovations such as cost capping and risk sharing between legal representatives and clients, so providing consumers with more freedom of choice. JEL Classification: K4. * The authors would like to thank participants in The David Hume Institute conference, “The Reform of Civil Justice”, of June 1 1998 for helpful comments. We are particularly indebted to our colleagues Hector MacQueen and Rachel Wadia for their expert help and encouragement, and to two anonymous referees for their constructive comments. Remaining errors are our own. What price civil justice ? Brian G. M. Main and Alan Peacock