Draft rules governing the extension to fixed recoverable costs have been published by the judiciary. Fixed costs will be imposed for most civil claims worth up to £100,000 and are to come into force – applied differently depending on the type of claim in October.

Practitioners can now access the draft rules, including the amounts they will be able to charge for civil litigation, here.

The draft rules are still subject to formal ratification by the Civil Procedure Rule Committee and master of the rolls, followed by approval from ministers and from parliament.

The extension is the government’s response to Sir Rupert Jackson’s 2017 report which set how fixed costs could apply to higher-value claims. Part 45 of the CPR has been largely rewritten and there are changes made to Part 26 (case management, preliminary stage), Part 28 (fast track) and Part 36 (offers to settle).

Ministers have already announced that the extension has been delayed for two years for housing claims.

In the fast track, there will be four complexity bands (one to four in ascending order of complexity) with associated grids of costs for the stages of a claim.

As recommended by Jackson, there will be a separate intermediate track for less complex multi-track cases under £100,000 damages.

A note accompanying the draft rules emphasises that judges will retain the discretion to allocate more complex cases valued at under £100,000 to the multi-track, so that complex cases will not be inappropriately captured by the extended FRC regime.

Clinical negligence claims are not subject to this extension, except those where breach of duty and causation are admitted and they are allocated to the intermediate track, but are being considered more widely for claims up to £25,000 as part of a separate Department of Health scheme.

Mesothelioma and other asbestos-related lung disease claims are also exempted from fixed costs, as are claims against the police involving an intentional or reckless tort, or relief or remedy in relation to the Human Rights Act.

Sean Linley of Carter Burnett legal costs consultants said disbursements will remain a ‘hard-fought battleground’. ‘Those familiar with fixed costs already will be well aware of the satellite litigation that arises,’ said Linley. ‘Disbursements will have their own section in the new CPR 45 rules, highlighting just how expanded and complex this area is. With expanded fixed costs there are an increasing number of permutations for consideration.’

He added that other notable omissions from the draft rules include agency fees and certain counsel fees. ‘The best advice at this stage is to be ready. Make sure you know the key dates for changes and act accordingly to reasonably protect your position.’