Zuckerman on Australian Civil Procedure is an important new text that provides a rigorous, principles-based analysis of civil procedure in Australia. Civil procedure lies at the heart of the judicial process. Relevant principles are explored against a backdrop of State, Territory and Federal rules of procedure, and solutions are offered to difficult issues encountered in practice and to unsettled questions of law.
Rules of civil procedure in Australia have undergone drastic change in recent years, following major reforms over the past 20 years in England and Wales. The idea that the rules of procedure should facilitate the ‘just, quick and cheap’ resolution of the real issues in dispute in proceedings, and that the costs of the process should, insofar as possible, be proportionate to the potential benefits obtained by engaging in it has found favour and been given practical expression in all Australian jurisdictions.
This is particularly so in light of the High Court’s rulings in Aon Risk Services Australia v Australian National University and Expense Reduction Analysts Group v Armstrong Strategic Management & Marketing. The motivations underpinning such policy shifts and their consequences in practice are thoroughly explained and analysed, and attention is drawn to matters still ripe for reform.
While the work is concerned with Australian civil procedure, attention is drawn to the English experience. The book benefits from the lead author’s expertise in English civil procedure and his influential role in reform efforts in England, as well as from the diverse experience and expertise of the Australian authors in Federal and State jurisdictions in Australia. The book is an essential text for both legal practitioners and academics and is highly valuable for law students seeking a deeper understanding of the principles informing the rules of procedure.
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