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Section 30:
Unrepresented litigants
In the Interim Report,
the difficulties facing unrepresented litigants trying to
navigate the civil justice system were discussed. These include :-
Lack of knowledge of the rules of procedural and substantive law.
A lack of knowledge as to how to present their case at the interlocutory stages and
at the trial.
A sense of inequality and being disadvantaged where the other party has legal
representation.
In some cases, a sense of grievance induced by perceived judicial irritation at
having to deal with an unrepresented litigant unfamiliar with the law and court
procedures.
Some of these difficulties were reflected in the responses submitted by several
individuals from the point of view of the litigant in person.
As was also noted in the Interim Report, the presence of unrepresented litigants in a
case tends to pose problems for the other parties and to increase costs by leading to
more court events, by the proceedings suffering from poor definition of the issues and
taking longer to deal with evidence and submissions, especially where evidence which
is legally irrelevant is tendered.
Notes
Including 4 individual respondents.
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