County Court Bulk Centre
Encyclopedia
The County Court Bulk Centre (CCBC) is a County Court
in England and Wales
created to deal with claims by the use of various electronic media.
Unlike other County Courts the CCBC does not physically hear cases. If any case might require a hearing it is transferred to another County Court.
In January 1990 the Claim Production Centre (CPC) (originally called the Summons Production Centre) was created, with the power to issue and serve claims through information technology. This is currently enshrined within Rule 7.10 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998
(CPR). This states that "…there shall be a Production Centre for the issue of claim forms and other related matters…" and that the relevant practice direction makes provision for its use and any modification or disapplication of the CPR.
All claims issued through the CPC were originally issued in the name of a county court in the same way as claims issued in the traditional manner. In March 1992 the CCBC was created to remove the burden of routine matters in simple CPC cases from the other county court. The current definition of such matters is contained in Practice Direction 7C.
. Claims issued through the CCBC show Northampton County Court as their Court of issue.
Continued use of the CCBC is subject to the Rules of Membership and Code of Conduct.
This file can currently be submitted either:
(a) on magnetic tape
;
(b) on a floppy disk
;
(c) or by file transfer over a dial-up modem
As magnetic tape was the first available method long-standing users of the CCBC might refer to the file as the "tape" even when using another method of submission.
There is currently no ability to issue using a webservice.
After processing the file the CCBC provides confirmation of which cases have been issued and which have not, along with appropriate details, either by fax or by a data file which the user can collect using the dial-up modem service.
As well as issuing Claim Forms, the CCBC also handles requests for Judgment
s and Warrants of Execution
in the same manner.
(s) in the same manner as other courts. However, the response pack also includes a password to allow the Defendant to file their response via a website.
Where the Defendant contests some, or all, of the claim, the Claimant is required (if they wish to continue) to request the case be transferred out of the CCBC.
These are currently:
In addition the CCBC cannot be used to issue claims under Part 8 of the CPR.
County Court
A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of county courts held by the High Sheriff of each county.-England and Wales:County Court matters can be lodged...
in England and Wales
England and Wales
England and Wales is a jurisdiction within the United Kingdom. It consists of England and Wales, two of the four countries of the United Kingdom...
created to deal with claims by the use of various electronic media.
Unlike other County Courts the CCBC does not physically hear cases. If any case might require a hearing it is transferred to another County Court.
Creation
The increasing ubiquity of computers and Internet access led to public discussion of allowing greater use of information technology to run Court proceedings.In January 1990 the Claim Production Centre (CPC) (originally called the Summons Production Centre) was created, with the power to issue and serve claims through information technology. This is currently enshrined within Rule 7.10 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998
Civil Procedure Rules 1998
The Civil Procedure Rules are the rules of civil procedure used by the Court of Appeal, High Court of Justice, and County Courts in civil cases in England and Wales...
(CPR). This states that "…there shall be a Production Centre for the issue of claim forms and other related matters…" and that the relevant practice direction makes provision for its use and any modification or disapplication of the CPR.
All claims issued through the CPC were originally issued in the name of a county court in the same way as claims issued in the traditional manner. In March 1992 the CCBC was created to remove the burden of routine matters in simple CPC cases from the other county court. The current definition of such matters is contained in Practice Direction 7C.
Location
Currently both the CPC and CCBC are located in NorthamptonNorthampton
Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...
. Claims issued through the CCBC show Northampton County Court as their Court of issue.
Access
Use of the CCBC is available only to members. Membership is free and is available to anyone who successfully demonstrates they can meet the IT requirements of the CCBC.Continued use of the CCBC is subject to the Rules of Membership and Code of Conduct.
Money Claim Online
Money Claim Online (MCOL) was created in February 2002. It provides users who wish to issue a limited number of claims to commence and manage County Court proceedings using a website, and to pay Court fees online using a credit card.Bulk Issue
Instead of submitting an individual Claim Form along with an individual payment of the correct fee for each case, CCBC users submit a single file containing each of the claims they wish to issue on a particular day as a data record in a specified format. Fees for all of these cases can be paid in a lump sum.This file can currently be submitted either:
(a) on magnetic tape
Magnetic tape
Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic recording, made of a thin magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic. It was developed in Germany, based on magnetic wire recording. Devices that record and play back audio and video using magnetic tape are tape recorders and video tape recorders...
;
(b) on a floppy disk
Floppy disk
A floppy disk is a disk storage medium composed of a disk of thin and flexible magnetic storage medium, sealed in a rectangular plastic carrier lined with fabric that removes dust particles...
;
(c) or by file transfer over a dial-up modem
Modem
A modem is a device that modulates an analog carrier signal to encode digital information, and also demodulates such a carrier signal to decode the transmitted information. The goal is to produce a signal that can be transmitted easily and decoded to reproduce the original digital data...
As magnetic tape was the first available method long-standing users of the CCBC might refer to the file as the "tape" even when using another method of submission.
There is currently no ability to issue using a webservice.
After processing the file the CCBC provides confirmation of which cases have been issued and which have not, along with appropriate details, either by fax or by a data file which the user can collect using the dial-up modem service.
As well as issuing Claim Forms, the CCBC also handles requests for Judgment
Judgment
A judgment , in a legal context, is synonymous with the formal decision made by a court following a lawsuit. At the same time the court may also make a range of court orders, such as imposing a sentence upon a guilty defendant in a criminal matter, or providing a remedy for the plaintiff in a civil...
s and Warrants of Execution
Warrant of execution
A Warrant of Execution is a form of writ of execution used in British courts. It is a method of enforcing judgments and empowers a County Court bailiff to attend a judgment debtor’s address to take goods for sale.-Procedure:...
in the same manner.
Defendant Responses
Claim forms issued by the CCBC are served upon the DefendantDefendant
A defendant or defender is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff or pursuer in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute...
(s) in the same manner as other courts. However, the response pack also includes a password to allow the Defendant to file their response via a website.
Where the Defendant contests some, or all, of the claim, the Claimant is required (if they wish to continue) to request the case be transferred out of the CCBC.
Limitations
Rule 7 allows for limits to be placed on the types of claim that may be issued via the CCBC.These are currently:
- The claim must be for issue in the County Court and not the High Court;
- The Claim Form cannot refer to separate Particulars of Claim;
- The claim must be for a specified sum of money less than £100,000 sterling, and expressed in sterling;
- The claim cannot be against more than two Defendants;
- Where there are two Defendants the claim against each of them must be for the same amount;
- The Defendant(s) must not be a child or patient (within the meaning of Rule 21 of the Civil Procedure Rules) or a legally assisted person (within the meaning of the Legal Aid Act 1988);
- The Defendant cannot be the Crown;
- The Defendant(s) address for service must be within England or Wales.
In addition the CCBC cannot be used to issue claims under Part 8 of the CPR.