Court fee hike will undermine London’s position, says RPC
THE GOVERNMENT’S proposal to increase court fees will undermine London’s position as a global centre of dispute resolution, according to a new report by City law firm RPC.
The report, released today, claims research undertaken by the Ministry of Justice revealed 61 per cent of the commercial lawyers surveyed believe the government’s plans to increase the fee to issue proceeding will encourage parties to litigate in other jurisdictions instead of the UK, making New York and Singapore serious rivals.
Under government plans, the fee to issue proceedings for the recovery of money will be raised to five per cent of the value of proceeding over the value of £10,000, meaning parties could end up paying up to six times more than the current rate. Any increase may also have a negative impact on the number of parties deciding to bring lower value claims to court.
The Law Society has begun a judicial review process to challenge the government’s decision.