Civil courts
Civil cases are those that do not involve family matters or failure to pay council tax. Civil cases are mainly dealt with by county courts and typically relate to debt (these generally being issued for a specified amount of money), the repossession of property, personal injury (these generally being issued for an unspecified amount of money), the return of goods and insolvency. Particularly important, complex or substantial cases are instead dealt with in the High Court.
See civil justice statistics at MOJ for further information.
Civil courts - total claims
The process of taking a person(s) or company to court regarding a civil (non-family) matter begins with a person (the claimant) either completing a claim form and taking it to a court or completing a claim form online.
| Period | Civil courts - total claims |
|---|---|
| Jan - Dec 2000 | 1,943,513 |
| Jan - Dec 2001 | 1,805,637 |
| Jan - Dec 2002 | 1,743,339 |
| Jan - Dec 2003 | 1,718,883 |
| Jan - Dec 2004 | 1,723,371 |
| Jan - Dec 2005 | 1,968,894 |
| Jan - Dec 2006 | 2,115,491 |
| Jan - Dec 2007 | 1,944,812 |
| Jan - Dec 2008 | 1,993,828 |
| Jan - Dec 2009 | 1,803,221 |
| Jan - Dec 2010 | 1,550,626 |
| Jan - Dec 2011 | 1,504,243 |
| Jan - Dec 2012 | 1,394,230 |
| Jan - Dec 2013 | 1,445,339 |
| Jan - Dec 2014 | 1,594,596 |
| Jan - Dec 2015 | 1,562,065 |
| Jan - Dec 2016 | 1,802,286 |
| Jan - Dec 2017 | 2,048,446 |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | 2,073,957 |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | 2,029,258 |
| Jan - Dec 2020 | 1,296,188 |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 1,582,363 |
| Jan - Dec 2022 | 1,538,846 |
Jan - Dec 2022
1,538,846
Data source
Civil justice statistics (quarterly)
Published: 1 June 2023. Next publication: 07 September 2023 9:30am.
Civil courts - claims defended
Whether the claim is issued online or through the county courts, a copy of the claim form along with a response pack is sent to (served on) the defendant who has 14 days to respond to the claim. The defendant can: do nothing; pay up (either the full amount of the claim or in part); admit the claim and ask for more time to pay (in full or part); and/or dispute (defend) the claim (in full or part).
| Period | Civil courts - claims defended |
|---|---|
| Jan - Dec 2000 | 248,167 |
| Jan - Dec 2001 | 252,176 |
| Jan - Dec 2002 | 263,384 |
| Jan - Dec 2003 | 264,379 |
| Jan - Dec 2004 | 258,096 |
| Jan - Dec 2005 | 275,138 |
| Jan - Dec 2006 | 292,115 |
| Jan - Dec 2007 | 338,616 |
| Jan - Dec 2008 | 298,796 |
| Jan - Dec 2009 | 315,963 |
| Jan - Dec 2010 | 290,889 |
| Jan - Dec 2011 | 275,918 |
| Jan - Dec 2012 | 259,585 |
| Jan - Dec 2013 | 262,872 |
| Jan - Dec 2014 | 264,701 |
| Jan - Dec 2015 | 264,545 |
| Jan - Dec 2016 | 284,328 |
| Jan - Dec 2017 | 297,936 |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | 298,055 |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | 298,605 |
| Jan - Dec 2020 | 250,087 |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 275,904 |
| Jan - Dec 2022 | 249,595 |
Jan - Dec 2022
249,595
Data source
Civil justice statistics (quarterly)
Published: 1 June 2023. Next publication: 07 September 2023 9:30am.
Civil courts - claims allocated to track
If the claim is defended, the usual procedure is for further information to be provided by the parties, following which the case is allocated by a judge to one of three case-management tracks: small claim track, fast track or multi track.
| Period | Civil courts - claims allocated to track |
|---|---|
| Jan - Dec 2000 | 152,641 |
| Jan - Dec 2001 | 143,486 |
| Jan - Dec 2002 | 140,721 |
| Jan - Dec 2003 | 154,705 |
| Jan - Dec 2004 | 151,527 |
| Jan - Dec 2005 | 153,328 |
| Jan - Dec 2006 | 155,149 |
| Jan - Dec 2007 | 173,751 |
| Jan - Dec 2008 | 163,905 |
| Jan - Dec 2009 | 179,983 |
| Jan - Dec 2010 | 168,693 |
| Jan - Dec 2011 | 170,615 |
| Jan - Dec 2012 | 151,120 |
| Jan - Dec 2013 | 149,637 |
| Jan - Dec 2014 | 143,529 |
| Jan - Dec 2015 | 151,260 |
| Jan - Dec 2016 | 157,140 |
| Jan - Dec 2017 | 165,221 |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | 175,888 |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | 191,725 |
| Jan - Dec 2020 | 147,285 |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 158,626 |
| Jan - Dec 2022 | 159,477 |
Jan - Dec 2022
159,477
Data source
Civil justice statistics (quarterly)
Published: 1 June 2023. Next publication: 07 September 2023 9:30am.
Civil courts - claims gone to trial
Defended cases which are not settled or withdrawn generally result in a small claim hearing or trial.
| Period | Civil courts - claims gone to trial |
|---|---|
| Jan - Dec 2000 | 71,233 |
| Jan - Dec 2001 | 71,763 |
| Jan - Dec 2002 | 68,901 |
| Jan - Dec 2003 | 65,026 |
| Jan - Dec 2004 | 62,201 |
| Jan - Dec 2005 | 63,367 |
| Jan - Dec 2006 | 62,968 |
| Jan - Dec 2007 | 69,248 |
| Jan - Dec 2008 | 63,981 |
| Jan - Dec 2009 | 64,078 |
| Jan - Dec 2010 | 60,303 |
| Jan - Dec 2011 | 52,660 |
| Jan - Dec 2012 | 46,993 |
| Jan - Dec 2013 | 43,093 |
| Jan - Dec 2014 | 45,062 |
| Jan - Dec 2015 | 48,192 |
| Jan - Dec 2016 | 51,106 |
| Jan - Dec 2017 | 56,373 |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | 58,517 |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | 64,754 |
| Jan - Dec 2020 | 45,200 |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 53,675 |
| Jan - Dec 2022 | 53,664 |
Jan - Dec 2022
53,664
Data source
Civil justice statistics (quarterly)
Published: 1 June 2023. Next publication: 07 September 2023 9:30am.
Civil courts - total judgments
Total number of judgments in the county courts. Some civil cases are resolved via mediation or settled out of court and don't proceed to a judgement.
| Period | Civil courts - total judgments |
|---|---|
| Jan - Dec 2009 | 982,464 |
| Jan - Dec 2010 | 794,311 |
| Jan - Dec 2011 | 748,586 |
| Jan - Dec 2012 | 663,457 |
| Jan - Dec 2013 | 667,168 |
| Jan - Dec 2014 | 831,541 |
| Jan - Dec 2015 | 867,665 |
| Jan - Dec 2016 | 1,055,035 |
| Jan - Dec 2017 | 1,284,364 |
| Jan - Dec 2018 | 1,291,142 |
| Jan - Dec 2019 | 1,323,750 |
| Jan - Dec 2020 | 727,438 |
| Jan - Dec 2021 | 980,474 |
| Jan - Dec 2022 | 901,278 |
Jan - Dec 2022
901,278
Data source
Civil justice statistics (quarterly)
Published: 1 June 2023. Next publication: 07 September 2023 9:30am.