SDT announces new set of procedures to streamline case progression and facilitate non-party disclosure

The President/Policy Committee of the SDT are pleased to announce the implementation of a new set of procedures designed to streamline case progression, facilitate non-party disclosure, and improve overall efficiency to ensure that all parties have a fair and timely resolution.

In brief the new procedures are aimed at :

• Giving parties more time to understand each other’s cases before requiring an Answer/ Reply and before setting a substantive hearing date;
• Enhancing the transparency and efficiency of substantive hearings by introducing a new Automatic Disclosure Policy (ADP) which will reduce the volume of non-party disclosure applications;
• Reinforcing the SDT’s collective commitment to open justice;
• Reducing the parties’ costs;
• Reducing the number of ‘lost’ hearing days for the Tribunal thereby reducing the cost per court.

The new procedures will come into effect on 15 January 2025 and will be implemented across all new cases received from that date onwards.

The Tribunal encourages all parties to familiarise themselves with these new procedures (Explanatory Note – here) and to work collaboratively to ensure their successful implementation.

For more information about the new procedures, please contact enquiries@solicitorsdt.com.