Solicitors will be barred from ‘unreasonably’ refusing to accept service by email under proposals issued for consultation by the Civil Procedure Rule Committee.
The reform is part of a wide-ranging project on modernisation of service, on which the CCRC is seeking further ideas.
Solicitors and judges have said in recent years that the rules are too cumbersome and should be adapted to modern communication methods. Email is now a very common way for litigants to communicate both before and after the commencement of proceedings, the consultation notes. The rules permit electronic service on a party or their solicitors, but unless an order for alternative service is obtained under CPR 6.15 the consent of the party being served is required.
In some cases, parties that may previously have communicated by email have attempted electronic service only to find after the expiry of the limitation period that the agreement of the party being served was required. 'More commonly,' it adds, 'parties find themselves put to additional expense and delay by parties or their solicitors unreasonably refusing to accept electronic service even though they may have been communicating in that manner for some time.'
The CPRC considered blanket permission where there has been electronic communication pre-action, but noted that this is not straightforward. The committee said: ‘Although able to communicate electronically, some unrepresented parties may only have limited digital access and be unable to download large documents or access sites which host them.
'Moreover, although legal representatives may not encounter the same technical issues, their role may be limited to initial pre-action advice and correspondence. Making those representatives responsible for the transmission of proceedings to former clients may be burdensome and a particular disincentive for those providing pro bono legal assistance in contentious matters.'
The CCRC’s proposed rule change would require legal representatives who have confirmed they are authorised to accept service on their client’s behalf to accept electronic service without the need for further confirmation of their consent.
A second rule change would remove reference in the rules to service by fax as the primary method of electronic communication, which the CCRC now considers ‘outdated’.
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