Small Claims Track
If the claim is allocated by the Court to the Small Claims Track, it is likely to be a
relatively straight forward claim, often for debt. Because costs are generally not
recoverable people often decide to deal with the matter themselves rather than to
instruct legal representatives.
In either event, the procedure involved remains the same. The Court will send out
a notice which will allocate the matter to the Small Claims Track. This normally
also set out a timetable of "directions" indicating what else needs to be done in the
claim by the parties and this would usually comprise of having to file with the
Court and serve on the other parties copies of any relevant documentation, including
expert reports and witness statements. A final hearing will also usually be listed
at this time.
At the hearing itself, the procedure is fairly informal. The Judge will listen while
the parties set out their cases and go through the evidence. At the end of the
hearing the Judge will make an Order stating what the losing party will have to
do (this may be payment of a sum of money by a certain date or the carrying
out of a certain action, for example). The Judge will also provide a brief explanation,
called the Judgment, of why he made his decision.