John Sorabji

Senior Teaching Fellow & Senior Fellow, Judicial Institute

Background

Barrister; Principal legal adviser to the Lord Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls; Governor of the Expert Witness Institute; Executive Committee and Council member of the European Law Institute; assistant editor, Journal of the International Association of Procedural Law; Case Note editor, Civil Justice Quarterly; and I have held visiting professorships at Université Pantheon-Assas, and an honorary professorship at UCL.

Research Interests

Civil justice systems; dispute resolution

Teaching

Course Convener - Principles of Civil Justice (LLM); Alternative Dispute Resolution (LLM); Alternative Dispute Resolution (LLM)

Books

• Chase, Hershkoff, Silberman, Taniguchi, Varano, Sorabji, Civil Litigation in Comparative Context, (Thomson Reuters US) (2^nd ed) (forthcoming 2017)
• Jackson (ed), Civil Procedure (The White Book) Vol. 1 & 2 (Thomson Reuters) (contributing editor and editor of Civil Procedure News) (2015, 2016, 2017)
• Foskett, Sorabji et al, The Law and Practice of Compromise (Sweet & Maxwell) (2015)
• Sorabji, English Civil Justice after Woolf and Jackson: A Critical Analysis (Cambridge University Press) (2014, hardback; 2015, paperback)

Book Chapters

• The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and the Court of Appeal in England and Wales: Sharing the Appellate Load(ed. Hurtado) (forthcoming 2017)
• Taking Justice Online: Developments in England and Wales and their Potential Influence on European Procedural Harmonisation, (ed. Kramer & Hess) (MPI, Ashgate-Nomos, forthcoming 2017)
• Procedural fairness in the common law tradition, in Procedural Fairness in International Courts and Tribunals (ed. Sarvarian et al) (BICCL, 2015)
• Justice in a Market State – An English Prolegomenon, in Citizen-State-International Community: A Collection of Studies(C.H. Beck) (2014)
• Collective action reform in England and Wales: Are class actions really on the way? in Extraterritoriality & Collective Redress (ed. Fairgrieve & Lein) (OUP, 2012)
• Article 6: A Triumph of Style over Substance? in The Impact of the UK Human Rights Act on Private Law (ed. Hoffman) (CUP) (2011)
• The Rule of Law and our Changing Constitution, in Tom Bingham and the Transformation of the law: A Liber Amicorum(ed. Andenas & Fairgrieve) (OUP) (2009) (with A. Clarke)
• Litigation, cost, funding and the future, in The Civil Procedure Rules Ten Years On (ed. Dwyer) (OUP) (2009) (with R. Musgrove)

Reports

• Neuberger, Sorabji, et al, Report of the Committee on Super-injunctions: Super-injunctions, Anonymised Injunctions and Open Justice, (May 2011)
• Knowles, Sorabji, et al, Access to Justice for Litigants in Person (or self-represented litigants) (November 2011) (Civil Justice Council, England and Wales)
• Knowles, Sorabji, et al, Draft Court Rules for Collective Actions (February 2010)
• Sorabji, Musgrove et al, Improving Access to Justice through Collective Actions –Developing a More Efficient and Effective Procedure for Collective Actions: A Series of Recommendations to the Lord Chancellor (July and October 2008) (Civil Justice Council, England and Wales)

Research Papers

• Thomas, Sorabji, Wendehorst, Unlocking the Digital Single Market – An Instrument for 21st Century Europe, (2015) (ISBN: 978-3-9503458-5-8)
• Sorabji, Interim Relief – National Report for England and Wales, (IAPL 15^th Annual World Conference, May 2015)
• Sorabji, Relief in small and simple matters – National Report for England and Wales (IAPL 15^th Annual World Conference, May 2015)
• Sorabji, The Crisis of Legal Aid and Alternative Solutions – General Report (IAPL Seoul Conference, October 2014)
• Sorabji (ed), Litigants-in-Person – What can courts do? Background Papers (UCL Judicial Institute, June 2014)
• Thomas, Sorabji, Storme, Wendehorst, 1st Supplement to the Statement of the European Law Institute on the Proposal for a Regulation on a Common European Sales Law, (2014), (ISBN: 978-3-9503458-3-4)
• Thomas, Sorabji, Storme, Wendehorst, Statement of the European Law Institute on the Proposal for a Regulation on a Common European Sales Law, (2012), (ISBN: 978-3-9503458-1-0)

Articles

• The Online Solutions Court – A multi-door courthouse for the 21st Century (2017) CJQ (36) 86
• Interim Relief: a common law review, Flinders Law Journal (2017, forthcoming)
• Access to the Supreme Court – the English Approach, Revista de Processo, Ano 41, 257 (2016) 393
• Austerity’s effect on English Civil Justice, Erasmus Law Review (2015) No.4 159
• English civil justice: another attempt at a new approach to justice, Revista de Processo, Ano 40, 243 (2015) 81
• Part 36: a rule in need of reform (2015) CJQ (34) 11
• Reflections on the Commission Communication on Collective Redress [2014] 17 (1) IJEL 58
• Coping with Complexity: Securing justice through multi-party litigation – Lessons from the CAT and JJB Sports [2014] EBLR (25.4) 527
• Fact-Finding in Tort Litigation: Discovery, Disclosure, Proof-Taking (2014) IJPL-RIDP 295
• Prospects for Proportionality: Jackson Implementation (2013) CJQ (32) 213
• Late amendment and Jackson’s commitment to Woolf: another attempt to implement a new approach to civil justice(2012) CJQ 31(4) 393
• The Road to New Street Station: fact, fiction and the overriding objective [2012] EBLR 1-77
• The Importance of Civil Justice, (2009) Bracton Law Journal (41) 32 (with A. Clarke)
• The Hidden Class Action in English Civil Procedure (2009) CJQ (28) 498
• B v B [2005] EWCA Civ 237: Forwards or Backwards for the Overriding Objective (2005) CJQ (24) 414

Editorials, notes etc

• The English Commercial Court, Dutch Law Journal on Civil Justice Administration/Tijdschrift voor Civiele Rechtspleging, (2016) No. 4. 140
• Magna Carta – a Charter for Innovation, Expert Witness Institute News (September 2015)
• The “Guidance for the Instruction of Experts in Civil Claims 2014” – A Fresh Start for the Experts Protocol, Expert Witness Institute News (March 2015)
• Concurrent Evidence – Testing the Waters, Expert Witness Institute News (September 2014)
• Experts – An Inquisitorial Future?, Expert Witness Institute News (May 2014)
• Tinkler v Elliott: Promptly setting aside a judgment given in a party’s absence, (2013) CJQ 32(1) 9
• Calling time on the privilege against self-incrimination in civil proceedings, (2012) CJQ 31(3) 261
• Challenging Permission to Appeal: R (Medical Justice) v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2010] EWCA Civ 269, (2011) CJQ (3) 241
• W(h)ither Carver?: CPR 36, the law of contract and certainty in Gibbon v Manchester City Council & Others [2010] EWCA Civ 726, (2011) CJQ (2) 124
• Payment into Court—Cash, Cheque or Foreign Currency: Petroleo Brasilieiro SA v ENE Kos 1 Ltd [2009] EWCA Civ 1127, (2010) CJQ 29(2) 146
• A costs crisis once more – Peakman v Linbrooke Services Ltd (2009) CJQ 28(2) 177
• Costs: CPR 36 – when success is not to your advantage – Carver v BAA plc & Multiplex Constructions (UK) Ltd v Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd (2009) CJQ 28(1) 12
• Costs – Further Developments from Halsey: Nigel Witham Ltd v Smith & Isaacs & S & Others v Chapman & Another (2008) CJQ 27(4) 427
• Costs: unreasonable conduct within a mediation – Carleton (Earl of Malmesbury) v Strutt & Parker (A Partnership) (2008) CJQ 27(3) 288
• Service – Eliminating Post–Collier v Williams Doubt: Hoddinott & Others v Persimmon Homes (Wessex) Ltd (2008) CJQ 27(2) 158
• Amendment and the rule in Henderson v Henderson: Ruttle Plant Hire Ltd v The Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs  (2008) CJQ 27(1) 8
• Substitution of Parties: Adelson & Las Vegas Sands Corp v Associated Newspapers Limited (2007) CJQ 26(Oct) 404
• Taylor v Lawrence Revisited:  First Discount Ltd v Guinness & Others & Cranston & Sir William Jaffrey & Others v The Society of Lloyds (2007) CJQ 26(Oct) 413
• Service where the Defendant is outside the Jurisdiction: Kamali v City & Country Properties Ltd (2007) CJQ 26(Jul) 279
• Jurisdiction on Detailed Assessment to Discount Costs: Lahey v Pirelli Tyres Ltd (2007) CJQ 26 285
• When do proceedings start: St Helens MBC v Barnes (2007) CJQ 26 (Apr) 166 
• Service Revisited: Thomas v Home Office (2007) CJQ 26 (Apr) 168
• Sanctions in Detailed Assessment Proceedings: Haji-Ioannou v Frangos (2007) CJQ 26 (Apr) 173
• Protection from litigants who abuse court processes (2005) CJQ 24 (Jan) 3
• Change of parties after expiry of a relevant limitation period (2004) CJQ 23 (Oct) 252