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The Practice Direction on Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols is the general rule that sets out how parties are expected to behave before starting a civil claim in England and Wales. It applies as a baseline where no specific pre-action protocol covers the dispute, and it sits alongside the specific protocols where one does. In everyday terms, it describes the reasonable steps the court expects each side to take before litigation, so that going to court is a last resort rather than a first move.

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What it expects

The practice direction encourages parties to:
  • Exchange enough information to understand each other’s position
  • Try to settle the dispute without going to court, including considering alternative dispute resolution such as negotiation or mediation
  • Act reasonably and proportionately in the way they correspond and share information
  • Avoid unnecessary cost and delay
For a claimant, this generally means writing to explain the claim, usually through a letter before action, and allowing a reasonable time for a reply. For a defendant, it means responding properly rather than ignoring the correspondence.

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Why compliance matters

The court can take account of how the parties behaved before proceedings started. If a party has not complied with the practice direction without good reason, the court has a range of responses available, which can include costs consequences. This is true regardless of the eventual outcome of the claim, so a party can win the case yet still face a penalty for how they conducted themselves beforehand.

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Proportionality

The practice direction is not meant to generate heavy correspondence for small disputes. What is reasonable depends on the size and complexity of the matter. A modest debt does not call for the same pre-action effort as a complex, high-value dispute.
Portia is a document-organisation tool for people handling civil disputes in England and Wales. It is not a law firm and does not give legal advice. Learn what Portia does.