Within a Reasonable Time: The History of Due and Undue Delay in Civil Litigation

doi:10.3790/978-3-428-53409-8

Within a Reasonable Time: The History of Due and Undue Delay in Civil Litigation

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Rhee, C. (Ed.) (2010). Within a Reasonable Time: The History of Due and Undue Delay in Civil Litigation. Duncker & Humblot. https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-53409-8

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Within a Reasonable Time: The History of Due and Undue Delay in Civil Litigation

Editors: Rhee, C. H. van

Comparative Studies in Continental and Anglo-American Legal History, Vol. 28

(2010)

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Publisher Name: Duncker & Humblot
ISBN: 978-3-428-53409-8
978-3-428-13409-0 (print edition)
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3790/978-3-428-53409-8
Edition: 1
Language: English
Pages: 356
Collections: NBE HIST
NBE RECHT
NBE D&H
Subjects: Comparative law

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Institution: € 136.00 (incl. local VAT if applicable)
Individual: € 89.90 (incl. local VAT if applicable)

Abstract

As it becomes clear from the contributions to this volume, delay in civil litigation is a central issue in the Western legal tradition. It cannot be avoided since justice cannot be done without a proper investigation of the case at issue and this takes time. Justice and procedural delay are therefore virtually synonymous. However, even though delay is unavoidable, it becomes problematic when it can be qualified as »undue«. […] the present volume contains a fascinating collection of causes of due and undue delay in civil litigation […] as well as measures to reduce the time needed to arrive at a final decision of the case. Therefore, this collection of essays may not only be worthwhile for the historically interested lawyer, but most likely also for those with an interest in the improvement of the procedural systems of our modern world.

Section Title	Page	Action	Price
Contents	5
C. H. Van Rhee: Introduction	7
I. Preliminary Remarks	7
II. Due and Undue Delay: A Definition	10
III. Causes of Undue Delay	12
1. Non-Procedural Factors	13
2. Procedural Factors	17
a) Pre-Action	21
b) Pre-Trial	21
c) Trial	25
d) Closure of Trial until Final Judgment	27
e) Recourse against Judgments	28
f) Special Procedures	30
g) Enforcement	31
IV. Final Remarks	32
Bibliography	33
I. Middle Ages	35
M. Ascheri: Between Statutory Law and Learned Law: Delay in the Early History of the Medieval Italian Communes (and Beyond)	37
I. General Notes	37
1. Before the Ius Commune	37
2. From the Second Half of Twelfth Century Onwards: a New Complexity	39
3. A Glance at the Communal World	42
II. Means to Avoid Delay	43
1. The Regulation of Contumacia	43
2. Exclusion of Other Jurisdictions	44
3. Commercial Courts	44
4. Instrumentum Guarentigiatum (Guaranteed Deed)	47
5. Mandatory Arbitration	48
6. Consilia Sapientium	48
7. Reprisals	49
8. The Radical Solution: The Refusal to Apply the Ius Commune	49
III. The Realm of Contradiction	50
Bibliography	51
P. Brand: ‘To None Will We Sell, to None Will We Deny or Delay Right or Justice’: Expedition and Delay in Civil Proceedings in the English Medieval Royal Courts	57
I. Introduction	57
II. Court Organisation and ‘Court Staff’	60
III. The Pre-Action Stage	61
IV. The Pre-Trial Stage	63
V. The Trial Stage	64
1. The Oral Pleading Stage	64
2. The Proof Stage	66
VI. From Closure of Trial to Final Judgment	67
VII. Recourse against Judgments	68
VIII. Special Procedures	69
IX. Conclusions	70
Bibliography	71
R. H. Helmholz: Due and Undue Delay in the English Ecclesiastical Courts (ca. 1300 – 1600)	73
I. Introduction	73
II. Court Organization	75
III. Pre-Trial Proceedings	78
IV. Trials	80
V. Appeals	83
VI. Enforcement of Sentences	85
VII. Conclusion	88
Bibliography	90
K. W. Nörr: Verzögert oder beschleunigt: das Beispiel des römisch-kanonischen Prozessrechts	93
I. Einleitung	93
II. Das vorbereitende Verfahren, oder Verfahren bis zur Litiskontestation	94
III. Das Verfahren im engeren Sinn: von der Litiskontestation zum Endurteil	98
IV. Ein Fazit	100
Literatur	101
II. Early Modern Period	103
A. M. J. A. Berkvens: The Reform of Civil Procedure in the Rhine-Prussian Provinces: The Example of Prussian Gueldres 1713–1786	105
I. Introduction	105
II. The Procedural Law of Gueldres in the Seventeenth Century	108
III. The Codex Fridericianus and the 1752 Ordinance for Gueldres	109
IV. Inspection of the Subaltern Judiciary and the 1779 Ordinance for the Lower Benches in Prussian Gueldres	111
V. The 1781 Corpus Iuris Fridericianum and the 1786 Ordinances for the Lower Benches and for the Sovereign Court of the Duchy of Gueldres	113
1. The 1786 Regulation for the Lower Benches	115
2. The 1786 Regulation for the Sovereign Court	116
VI. Concluding Remarks	118
Bibliography	120
J. Finlay: The History of Delay in Civil Procedure at the Scottish Court of Session (1600 – 1830)	121
I. Introduction	121
II. Court Organisation and Court Staff	124
1. The Outer House	126
2. The Inner House	128
3. Remuneration	129
III. Pre-Action	130
IV. Pre-Trial	131
1. Commencement of the Action	131
2. Litiscontestation	139
3. Defences	139
V. Trial	141
1. Oral Pleadings	141
2. The Taking of Evidence	142
3. Parole Evidence	142
VI. From the Closure of the Trial Until Final Judgment	144
VII. Recourse	147
VIII. Special Procedures	148
IX. Enforcement	148
X. Measures to Abbreviate the Procedure: Their Success or Lack of Success	149
Bibliography	150
A. M. Godfrey: Procedural Delay, Appeal and Advocation in the Court of Session in Sixteenth-Century Scotland	153
I. Introduction	153
1. Recognition of Delay as a Problem	154
2. The Prevalence of Delay	157
II. Court Organisation and ‘Court Staff’	157
III. Pre-Action/Pre-Filing	161
IV. Pre-Trial	164
V. Trial	165
1. Litiscontestation	165
2. Written Pleadings	166
3. Failure of Witnesses to Compear	167
4. Examination of Witnesses	168
VI. From the Closure of the Trial until Final Judgment	170
VII. Recourse against Judgments	171
VIII. Special Procedures	171
1. Advocation	172
2. Taking of Evidence in a Foreign Jurisdiction	173
IX. Enforcement	173
X. Conclusion	173
Bibliography	175
III. 19th and 20th Centuries	177
J. Blackie: Delay and Its Control in Mid to Late Nineteenth Century Scottish Civil Procedure	179
I. Introduction	179
II. Length of Time Actually Taken	179
III. The Human Resources Question – Popular Judges and Advocates	182
IV. Timetables and Rules Allowing them not to Be Followed	183
V. Written Pleadings	183
1. Written Pleading Giving Fair Notice of the Remedy Asked for, the Facts to Be Relied on, and the Basic Legal Grounds	183
2. Debates on Points of Law, and the Move to Orality	185
VI. Control of Delay in Procedure for Proof of Facts	186
1. Cases Proceeding for Jury Trial	186
2. Cases Proceeding for ‘Proof’ before a Judge without a Jury	188
a) Court of Session	188
b) Provincial Courts	189
VII. Appeals	190
1. Appeals before a Case Came to Jury Trial	190
2. Appeals before a Case Came to Proof of Facts before a Single Judge without a Jury	192
3. Appeal to the House of Lords – A Source of Delay?	194
VIII. Conclusion	196
Bibliography	196
W. H. Bryson: The Code of Virginia of 1849	199
I. Court Organization	200
1. Appellate Courts	200
2. Public Offices as Private Property	201
II. Pre-Action/Pre-Filing	202
III. Pre-Trial	203
1. Generally	203
2. Actions for Torts	204
3. Actions for Breach of Contract	204
4. Actions for Ejectment from Land	204
5. Declaratory Judgments and Decrees	205
IV. Trials	205
1. Interested Witnesses	205
2. Depositions	206
V. From the Closure of the Trial until Final Judgment	207
VI. Recourse against Judgments	207
VII. Special Procedures	207
1. Pre-Trial Attachments	207
2. Distress for Rent	208
VIII. Enforcement of Judgments	209
1. Common Law	209
2. Equity	212
IX. Conclusion	212
Bibliography	213
S. Fockedey: Reducing Undue Delay in Nineteenth Century Belgium: a Sisyphean Task	215
I. Introduction	215
1. Context	215
2. Goals of this Article	216
II. Undue Delay: Definition and Policy	216
1. Undue Delay	216
a) Legal Definition	216
b) Undue Delay Defined by Nineteenth Century Policymakers	217
c) Civil Procedure and Criminal Procedure	218
2. Policy	218
a) Official Documents	218
b) Judicial Press	219
3. Key players	220
a) The Secretary of Justice	220
b) Parliament	221
III. Undue Delay in Nineteenth Century Belgium: A Real Problem?	221
1. A Local and Limited Problem	221
2. Who Was to Blame?	222
IV. Reducing Undue Delay in Nineteenth Century Belgium: A Pragmatic Approach	224
1. A Large Number of Judicial Appointments	224
2. Extending the Subject-Matter Jurisdiction of the Lower Courts	225
3. There is No Real Substitute for Hard Work	227
V. Missed Opportunities	228
1. An Overhaul of Civil Procedure Fails	228
2. No Transition to ‘Le Juge Unique’, No Rationalisation of the Judicial System	229
VI. Conclusion	230
Bibliography	231
T. P. Gallanis: Victorian Reform of Civil Litigation in the Superior Courts of Common Law	233
I. Introduction	233
II. Civil Litigation in the Superior Courts of Common Law at the Beginning of Victoria’s Reign (1837)	234
1. Court Organisation and ‘Court Staff’	234
2. Pre-Action/Pre-Filing	237
3. Pre-Trial	238
4. Trial	240
5. From the Closure of the Trial Until Final Judgment	240
6. Recourse Against Judgments	241
7. Special Procedures	242
8. Enforcement	242
III. Civil Litigation in the Superior Courts of Common Law at the End of Victoria’s Reign (1901)	242
1. Court Organisation and ‘Court Staff’	242
2. Pre-Action/Pre-Filing	244
3. Pre-Trial	244
4. Trial	246
5. From the Closure of the Trial Until Final Judgment, and Recourse Against Judgments	247
6. Special Procedures	248
7. Enforcement	249
IV. Themes and Conclusions	249
Bibliography	251
P. Oberhammer / T. Domej: Delay in Austrian Civil Procedure and the Legislator’s Response	255
I. Introduction	255
1. Franz Klein’s Reform of Civil Procedure and Procedural Delay	255
2. The Fight against Procedural Delay in the Twentieth Century	259
II. Court Organisation and Court Staff	262
1. Introduction	262
2. Panels versus Single Judges	262
3. Counsel Remuneration and Procedural Efficiency	264
III. ‘Pre-Trial’ and ‘Trial’	265
1. Introduction	265
2. From the Default Judgment to the Order for Payment	266
3. Concentration of the Hearing	267
4. Concentration by Preclusion	268
IV. From the Closure of the Trial until the Final Judgment	270
V. Recourse against Judgments	271
1. Structure of the Appellate Procedure	271
2. Suspensive Effect of the Appeal	272
3. Access to Appellate Courts	273
VI. Summary Procedures	274
Bibliography	275
D. Tamm / A. Højer Schjøler: The Way to the 1916 Reform of Danish Procedural Law	279
I. Introduction	279
1. Presentation	279
2. Court Organisation in the Early Modern Times	280
II. New initiatives	282
1. Pre-Action – The Introduction of Conciliation Boards	282
2. The Danish 1849 Constitution	285
3. The Maritime and Commercial Court of Copenhagen	286
III. Reform of Procedural Law in the Early Twentieth Century	287
1. New Initiatives	287
2. Preparing the Reform	288
3. Need or Will?	289
4. The Conciliation Boards and the Reform	290
5. The Period After the Reform	291
6. The Abolition of the Conciliation Boards	292
IV. End	294
1. Delay Today	294
2. Conclusion	295
Bibliography	295
S. Waddams: Clergy Discipline in the Church of England, 1830 –1892	297
I. Introduction	297
II. Court Organization and ‘Court Staff’	303
III. Pre-Action/Pre-Filing	308
IV. Pre-Trial	310
V. Trial	310
VI. From the Closure of the Trial until Final Judgment	312
VII. Recourse against Judgments	312
VIII. Special Procedures	314
IX. Enforcement	315
X. Conclusion	316
Bibliography	317
A. Wijffels: Undue Delay and the French Code of Civil Procedure (1806)	319
I. Introduction	319
II. Court Organisation	323
III. Preliminary Stages	325
IV. Formal Proceedings and Trial	327
V. Judgement	339
VI. Procedural Remedies against Judgements	341
1. Opposition	342
2. Appeal	343
VII. Special Procedures: Proceedings before the Justice of the Peace	347
VIII. Enforcement	349
IX. Epilogue	350
Bibliography	351
List of Contributors	355

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