The Civil Justice Council is a UK non-departmental public body

Non-departmental public body

In the United Kingdom, a non-departmental public body —often referred to as a quango—is a classification applied by the Cabinet Office, Treasury, Scottish Government and Northern Ireland Executive to certain types of public bodies...

 that advises the Lord Chancellor

Lord Chancellor

The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain, or Lord Chancellor, is a senior and important functionary in the government of the United Kingdom. He is the second highest ranking of the Great Officers of State, ranking only after the Lord High Steward. The Lord Chancellor is appointed by the Sovereign...

 on civil justice

Civil law (common law)

Civil law, as opposed to criminal law, is the branch of law dealing with disputes between individuals or organizations, in which compensation may be awarded to the victim...

 and civil procedure

Civil procedure

Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits...

 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...

. It was established in 1998 under section 6 of the Civil Procedure Act 1997 and is sponsored by the Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)

The Ministry of Justice is a ministerial department of the UK Government headed by the Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor, who is responsible for improvements to the justice system so that it better serves the public...

.

Composition

The Council must include:

• Members of the judiciary
  Judiciary
  The judiciary is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes...
  
  ;
• Members of the legal professions;
• Civil servants concerned with the administration of the courts;
• Persons experienced in consumer affairs
  Consumer protection
  Consumer protection laws designed to ensure fair trade competition and the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. The laws are designed to prevent businesses that engage in fraud or specified unfair practices from gaining an advantage over competitors and may provide additional...
  
  ;
• Persons experienced in lay advice; and
• Representatives of particular kinds of litigants, for example, business
  Business
  A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
  
  es or employees.

As of 2007, it is composed of:

• Chair: Master of the Rolls
  Master of the Rolls
  The Keeper or Master of the Rolls and Records of the Chancery of England, known as the Master of the Rolls, is the second most senior judge in England and Wales, after the Lord Chief Justice. The Master of the Rolls is the presiding officer of the Civil Division of the Court of Appeal...
  
   and Head of Civil Justice, Sir Anthony Clarke QC
  Queen's Counsel
  Queen's Counsel , known as King's Counsel during the reign of a male sovereign, are lawyers appointed by letters patent to be one of Her [or His] Majesty's Counsel learned in the law...
  
  ;
• Deputy chair: Lord Justice Dyson
  John Dyson (judge)
  John Anthony Dyson, Lord Dyson is a Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. He is the second justice, after Lord Clarke, to be appointed directly to that court, and the first not to be a peer. However, by Royal Warrant, like all future appointees, he is styled "Lord Dyson" for life...
  
  
• 24 members;
• Ex officio members:
  • Deputy Head of Civil Justice;
  • Chair of the Judicial Studies Board
    Judicial Studies Board
    The Judicial College, formerly the Judicial Studies Board , established in 1979, is the organisation responsible for training judges in Crown, County and higher courts in England and Wales and tribunals judges in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. This includes the training of lay...
    
    .

Functions

The Council's functions are to:

• Keep the civil justice system under review;
• Consider how to make the civil justice system more accessible, fair and efficient;
• Advise the Lord Chancellor and the judiciary on the development of the civil justice system;
• Refer proposals for changes in the civil justice system to the Lord Chancellor and the Civil Procedure Rules Committee; and
• Make proposals for research
  Research
  Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...
  
  .

Subcommittees include:

• Access to justice committee;
• Costs committee;
• Alternative Dispute Resolution
  Alternative dispute resolution
  Alternative Dispute Resolution includes dispute resolution processes and techniques that act as a means for disagreeing parties to come to an agreement short of litigation. ADR basically is an alternative to a formal court hearing or litigation...
  
   committee;
• Experts
  Expert witness
  An expert witness, professional witness or judicial expert is a witness, who by virtue of education, training, skill, or experience, is believed to have expertise and specialised knowledge in a particular subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially and legally...
  
   committee.

In February 2008, the Ministry of Justice announced a study of the work of the Council to:

• Review the role and performance of the Civil Justice Council and make recommendations;
• Evaluate the continuing need for body to perform the role and functions of the Council 1997 Act;
• Review whether a non-departmental body remains the most appropriate institution;
• Assess the past effectiveness of the Council; and
• Consider ways in which the Council could be made more effective.