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Recommendation 55: Where, at the summons for directions stage, the court's
view is that a case management conference is desirable, the court should fix a
timetable up to the date of the case management conference, that date
constituting the first milestone, with further milestones to be fixed when the
case management conference is held.
(ii)
Pre-trial reviews, trial dates and trial periods
In many if not most cases, a case management conference would not be needed. On
the basis of the questionnaire and with input from the parties, the court should often be
able to decide what directions are needed and to fix a timetable up to and including the
date for the pre-trial review and the trial date. This would often be the preferable
course. If this is not possible, a trial period should be fixed.
A trial period would be a period of say, four to six weeks during which the trial is to
commence, the precise starting date being fixed at the pre-trial review scheduled to be
held, if possible, two to three months before the start of the trial period. By fixing a
trial period and holding the parties to that period as a milestone, some firmness and
predictability would be achieved. At the same time, the judge or master at the pre-trial
review would have the flexibility to vary the start date for the trial within the trial
period, for instance, to suit the availability of preferred counsel or of witnesses
resident abroad. It would also allow the court greater flexibility in the allocation of
judicial resources.
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