This thesis discovers that a form of caseflow management was practised by Official Referees in England more than 70 years before the Woolf reforms. It also describes an innovative concept of judicial sponsorship of settlement at an early interlocutory stage. For its time it was revolutionary. Such process created a distinct subordinate judicial culture which promoted economy and expedition in the management of complex technical cases. This culture was facilitated by the referees' subordinate function as officers of the High Court and the type of casework undertaken. The essential elements of my theory of rudimentary micro caseflow management emerge from a study of the methods used by Sir Francis Newbolt K.C. These are analysed and discussed by way of a literature review, qualitative and quantitative analysis. I conclude that this form of rudimentary caseflow management and judicial settlement process made the court more efficient. This process, identified as Newbolt's "Scheme," is traced from its inception through the judicial activities of Newbolt and other referees who followed this approach whether actively or passively. Having traced the origin and reasons for such officers this study considers the senior and subordinate judicial figures involved, their influence and encouragement as to the employment of innovative interlocutory techniques. Contemporaneous records including reports and correspondence are analysed in considering these innovations. The analysis is supported by the results of a quantitative study of Judicial Statistics between 1919 and 1970 and other contemporaneous judicial records including the referees' notebooks and judicial time records known as Minute Books. A number of conclusions are drawn which suggest a correlation between such techniques and levels of efficiency providing an interesting comparison for those interested in wider questions of civil justice reform.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:645797 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Reynolds, Michael Paul |
| Publisher | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | http://etheses.lse.ac.uk/3036/ |
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