Woolf wants radical courts overhaul

THE BRITISH legal system has got a "major problem" and the country needs a "radically different model for conducting civil justice than exists at present", Lord Woolf said.

Speaking at a press conference last Friday, Woolf, who is conducting a review of rules and procedure of civil courts in England and Wales, said a "fundamentally different approach" to justice was required.

Woolf said complaints made against the system during the first half of the review included excessive costs incurred by the discovery procedure and use of expert witnesses and time wastage caused by advocacy.

"The problem is primarily one of costs and it is also one of delay. I think we have got to accept that our form of advocacy now is over-dependent on excessive orality."