I have the following questions concerning what can happen to a bundle at the end of a hearing at a county court

a. Can the judge order the destruction of the bundle even if the parties want to take it away and if yes which rules or law give him this right?

b. Should the bundle be left in the file in case it is necessary for an appeal?

c. Can the parties take their bundle at the end of the hearing and in this case for how long the county court will keep it waiting the parties take it away?

d. Has the county court the right to automatically destroy the bundle at the end of the hearing even if the parties want to take it away?

I would like also to know which stature or Civil Procedure Rules deal with this issue. I found out that Practice Direction 52C says that the bundle at the end of a hearing will be destroyed but it concerns only the Court of Appeal and not the County Court

Here you go.

Well 3 bundles should be prepared...Court.... Claimant...file.The claiming/defending party can do as they wish with theirs...the court.......

 

 

http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/family/practice_directions/pd_part_27a#para9.1

 

PD 9.1/9.2

 

Subject to the court wishes to retain the bundle or specific alternative arrangements have been agreed with the court,

Unless I am mistaken Practice Direction 27A paragraphs 9.1/9.2 concern only family proceedings and the removal of a bundle in order to re-loge it later. However I am interested in the rules concerning the county court. There should be somewhere but I do not know where

The Claimant files the bundles usually and they can take them away at the end or if not the Court will destroy them.

Are you the Defendant?

Unless I am mistaken Practice Direction 27A paragraphs 9.1/9.2 concern only family proceedings and the removal of a bundle in order to re-loge it later. However I am interested in the rules concerning the county court. There should be somewhere but I do not know where

CPR 27 PD6 states .......

27.6

(1) The provisions of Practice Direction 27A must be followed for the preparation of court bundles and for other related matters in respect of hearings and directions appointments.

The Claimant files the bundles usually and they can take them away at the end or if not the Court will destroy them.

 

Are you the Defendant?

Except maybe if the judge at the end of the hearing orders that the bundles are destroyed but has the judge really this right?

I am the claimant

Do you know which CPR or statute deals with this issue

CPR 27 PD6 states .......

 

27.6

(1) The provisions of Practice Direction 27A must be followed for the preparation of court bundles and for other related matters in respect of hearings and directions appointments.

Unfortunately unless I am mistaken this is not a Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) because it is a Family Procedure Rules so it applies only to family cases and not to all cases in the county court. We find this Family Procedure Rule at the following websites

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/family/rules_pd_menu

and then in the website

https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/procedure-rules/family/pdf/parts/Web_part_27.pdf

CPR 27 (PD6) is a Civil Procedure Rule which applies to all Small Court Claim court cases.....Magistrates /County/High

Except maybe if the judge at the end of the hearing orders that the bundles are destroyed but has the judge really this right?

 

 

I am the claimant

 

 

Do you know which CPR or statute deals with this issue

So you wanted your bundle back but the Court destroyed it?

Is this a fast track or small claim?

I have the following questions concerning what can happen to a bundle at the end of a hearing at a county court

 

a. Can the judge order the destruction of the bundle even if the parties want to take it away and if yes which rules or law give him this right?

 

b. Should the bundle be left in the file in case it is necessary for an appeal?

 

c. Can the parties take their bundle at the end of the hearing and in this case for how long the county court will keep it waiting the parties take it away?

 

d. Has the county court the right to automatically destroy the bundle at the end of the hearing even if the parties want to take it away?

 

I would like also to know which stature or Civil Procedure Rules deal with this issue. I found out that Practice Direction 52C says that the bundle at the end of a hearing will be destroyed but it concerns only the Court of Appeal and not the County Court

 

But surely this only refers to the court's copy only. If you prepared 3 bundles as you are supposed to do. One for the court, one for the claimant and one for yourself.. then you will have your own copy ?

Or, is this a case of you want all the copies back in the event that you want to mount an appeal and don't wish to invest time and money in preparing more bundles ?

CPR 27 (PD6) is a Civil Procedure Rule which applies to all Small Court Claim court cases.....Magistrates /County/High

Are you sure that you are not mixing up with Part 27 - The Small Claims Track of CPR which has only one Practice Direction which is Practice Direction 27 - Small Claims Track. However Part 27 of the CPR does not have a PD6

Can you send the website where it is stated that CPR 27 (PD6) is a Civil Procedure because it seems to be that it is a Family Procedure

 

Are you sure that you are not mixing up with Part 27 - The Small Claims Track of CPR which has only one Practice Direction which is Practice Direction 27 - Small Claims Track. However Part 27 of the CPR does not have a PD6

 

Can you send the website where it is stated that CPR 27 (PD6) is a Civil Procedure because it seems to be that it is a Family Procedure

It might help if you told us exactly why you want to know.

Practice Direction 52C deals with what happen to the bundle at the end of a hearing in the Court of Appeal. I would like to know which rule or law concern what happen to a bundle at the end of a hearing in the county court

Concerning my motive I simply like to resolve legal mysteries

If you're not going to be open about your reasons we'll struggle to help you as clearly you're lying and it is more than an academic query.

The bottom line is if you don't take the bundles with you at the end of the hearing then the Court will destroy them and there is nothing you can do about it.

I like to resolve legal mysteries specially if it helps my own case.

The problem that I have is that the judge at the end of the hearing ordered the destruction of the bundle of the defendant what is not a problem on itself because I have a copy of it. The problem is that the judge put maybe by mistake important documents from the file in the bundle of the defendant. And as a consequence these documents were also destroyed along with the defendant’s bundle

Hence I need to know which CPR or statute deal with what happen to a bundle at the end of a hearing at the county court

Practice Direction 52C says that the bundle at the end of a hearing will be destroyed but it concerns only the Court of Appeal and not the County Court. What means that the “default position” is that the bundle should be kept by the court for a certain period until the party collects it. Hence the question is whether the right of the judge to order the destruction of the bundle is a real right enshrined in law or it is more a habit or a tradition

There is no hard and fast rule in reltion to bundles.

What documents? Have you not got copies?

I think that there are rules about what happen to bundles at the end of a trial in a county court because I find that Practice Direction 39 A para 7 says

“Exhibits at trial

7 Exhibits which are handed in and proved during the course of the trial should be recorded on an exhibit list and kept in the custody of the court until the conclusion of the trial, unless the judge directs otherwise. At the conclusion of the trial it is the parties’responsibility to obtain the return of those exhibits which they handed in and to preserve them for the period in which any appeal may take place”

Each Court will deal with it differently.

How long did you wait to reclaim your bundles after the end of your trial?

The courts cannot do what they want because County Courts have to comply with PD39 para 7 and the Court of Appeal has to comply with PD 52C para 27(5)

The hearing ended at 15:00 on Friday. I sent an email to the court during the week-end asking that the bundle is not destroyed. The Court replied to me that when on Monday morning my email was read the bundle had already been destroyed. Hence the bundle was destroyed on Friday between 15:00 when the hearing ended and 16:00 when the court closed so very quickly and also illegally according to PD39 para 7 illegally

Why didn't you take the bundles with you at the conclusion of the trial?

The courts cannot do what they want because County Courts have to comply with PD39 para 7 and the Court of Appeal has to comply with PD 52C para 27(5)

The hearing ended at 15:00 on Friday. I sent an email to the court during the week-end asking that the bundle is not destroyed. The Court replied to me that when on Monday morning my email was read the bundle had already been destroyed. Hence the bundle was destroyed on Friday between 15:00 when the hearing ended and 16:00 when the court closed so very quickly and also illegally according to PD39A para 7

Illegally?

CPR PD 39A:

 

7. Exhibits which are handed in and proved during the course of the trial should be recorded on an exhibit list and kept in the custody of the court until the conclusion of the trial, unless the judge directs otherwise. At the conclusion of the trial it is the parties’responsibility to obtain the return of those exhibits which they handed in and to preserve them for the period in which any appeal may take place.

Practice Direction 52C - appeals to the court of appeal

 

27

(4) Bundles not to include originals:

Unless otherwise directed, the appeal bundle should not include original material such as original documents, photographs and recorded media. Such material should be provided to the court, if necessary, at the hearing.

 

(5) Destruction of bundles:

Bundles lodged with the court will not be returned to the parties but will be destroyed in the confidential waste system at the conclusion of the proceedings and without further notification.

You claim is not in the Court of Appeal is it?

I thought it was in the County Court?

I think that“it is the parties’responsibility” means that the court will not send the bundles back to the parties at the end of the trial. Hence the parties will have to ask for them. The issue is when. I think that they can do this at the end of the last hearing or if they forget to ask for the bundle they can ask for the bundle to the court once the bundles will be transferred from the courtroom to the office of the court

I think that “At the conclusion of the trial” means when all is finished but not necessary at the end of the last hearing in the courtroom

Sometimes parties are emotionally confused at the end of a hearing and for this reason can forget to ask to be given their bundles at the end of the hearing. If they come one day later to the court asking to be given their bundles do you think that the court will refuse to give them their bundles and destroy them?

Bundles are regularly destroyed at the end of the last day of the trial if not claimed. The Court doesn't have room to store them all for days, weeks or months on end unfortunately.

The Parties usually need to take them when they leave otherwise they are binned at the end of the day.

In my experience anything goes in the county court.The parties can normally have the bundles used by them in court back. That leaves the judge's bundle. S/he would usually only need to retain that if a reserved judgment is going to be given or possibly if it was not clear at the hearing what order would be needed.County court staff regularly lose bundles. I would not believe for one moment that a bundle would be destroyed over a weekend. There is not usually that level of efficiency. The bundle may still there somewhere. More often than not staff simply cannot be bothered to look all over the court for a bundle.Any bundles left in the courtroom after a hearing might be destroyed by the cleaners, or removed by security. But who knows?If the bundle was important to a party in some way try claiming off the MoJ. It is no longer clear, as it used to be, which department you would contact there.

What's most likely happend is that after the hearing had ended and the Parties had gone home the Usher went into Court and picked up all the bundles that had been left and thrown them in the confidential waste bin.

No matter what you think of the Courts, they will not leave random bundles lying around the Courtroom for days and it's very easy to just pick them up and drop them in the shred bin.

When I say bundle left in the courtroom I mean the judge’s bundle in the hand of the judge which is with the other documents of the file. I know that the file at the end of the hearing is brought back to the office of the court so with it also the judge’s bundle. I do not think that the judge’s bundle remain anywhere in the courtroom So the question is what happen to the judge ‘s bundle if the parties forget to claim it at the end of the hearing and they come back to the court maybe one day later asking to be given the judge’s bundle Has the judge the right to order the destruction of the judge’s bundle and has the county court the right to refuse to give back the judge’s bundle to the parties?