PRACTICE GUIDANCE: COURT OF APPEAL (CIVIL DIVISION) HEAR-BY DATES (2015)

1. Hear-by dates for different classes of appeal were revised more than 12 years ago, see Practice Note (Court of Appeal, Civil Division Listing Windows and Hear-by Dates) [2003] 1 W.L.R. 838, dated 28th February 2003. Since that time, the number of permission applications filed in the Court of Appeal has increased by 67%. There has also been a small increase of 3% in appeals since 2003.

1. Over the same period, the number of Lord and Lady Justices of Appeal has increased by one, from 37 to 38, in 2008. Because of the increasing volume of work of the Court, the hear-by dates set in 2003 are no longer realistic. In order to provide litigants and practitioners with a reliable timescale within which different classes of appeal are likely to be heard, revised hear-by dates have been set, to apply to all cases filed after 31st July 2015. The new hear-by dates are set out in the Hear-by Date Table, set out in Annex 1 to the this Practice Guidance. They vary depending upon whether permission to appeal was granted in the lower court or, if by the Court of Appeal, whether on paper or at an oral renewal hearing.

1. The hear-by dates are measured from the date an Appellant's Notice is issued in the Court of Appeal to the date the appeal is likely to be heard. In the exercise of its case management powers, the Court will strive to ensure that appeals are generally heard before the relevant hear-by date.

1. Applications for an expedited hearing will continue to be determined by a single Lord or Lady Justice or a Master or Deputy Master, in accordance with the principles set out in Unilever plc v Chefaro Proprietaries Ltd (Practice Note) [1995] 1 WLR 243.

1. This Practice Guidance replaces the Practice Note, dated 28th February 2003, for all cases filed after 31st July 2015.

Lord Dyson, Master of the Rolls and Head of Civil  Justice

17th June 2015

Annex 1: Hear-by Dates