Did you know that there are two separate Civil Procedure rules and two practice directions that deal with time compliance when it comes to time sensitive court orders? To be precise these are Rules 2.8 and 6.26 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 (CPR) along with practice directions (PD) 5B and 6A. Surprisingly, a great many legal representatives have no idea that these exist. A failure to take this into account when arranging for the collection of crucial documents and their delivery can make or break a case.
Right on Time
Seems straightforward enough right? But there’s more. As any legal practitioner knows, court desks tend to close at 4pm. So while you may have a day but not a time for your deadline, if your document is delivered after 4pm, it’ll simply be registered as delivered with the following day’s date.
If the court has asked for a document in X number of days, and that number is less than 5, then you ignore weekends and bank holidays. But, just to confuse things, if the deadline is longer than 5 days, then you do include weekends and bank holidays.
No Second Chances
Calculating the right compliance time is crucial, though. It’s something you absolutely have to get right. There is no leeway in terms of time. If the court has set a deadline with a sanction it won’t matter if that particular deadline is missed by one minute or one month. There are plenty of documented cases that show courts will not tolerate any failure to meet a court deadline unless there is an exceptional excuse.
Professionals with Legal System Experience
Getting your legal documents to court, particularly when they are crucial to your case, is a very precise calculation. Missing that deadline can be a catastrophe. So it is crucial that legal documents are handled by a specialist firm that understands the requirements for express document collection and delivery.
It is a point of pride with Process Serve UK that we understand the importance of on-time collection and delivery. Process Serve UK offers an express document collection service. Customers can relax knowing that we are able to provide a network of agents who are professional, efficient and understand how the legal system works. Contact us today.