Civil Case Management in the Twenty-First Century: Court Structures Still Matter (Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice Book 85)

The information age provides novel tools for case management. While technology plays a crucial role, the way in which courts are structured is still critical in ensuring effective case management. The correlation between court structure and case management is a pivotal topic. The existing debate concentrates predominantly on the micro and case-specific aspects of case management, without further inquiry into the relationship between court structure, court management, and case management. The contributions within this volume fill this gap from a comparative perspective, undertaking a macro/structural and sub-macro perspective of procedure and case management. Currency Exchange Rates Table Contents Introduction References Comparative Studies Comparing the Civil Court Structures of Mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau from a Case Management Perspective 1 Introduction 2 Horizontal Arrangement: Specialized Courts 3 Vertical Arrangement 4 Case Importance/Complexity Arrangement 5 To What Extent is the Current Court System of Case Management Shaped by the Procedural Principles and Rules of Other Legal Systems (‘Jurisdictions of Origin’) 6 (Wholesale) Adoption of Foreign Procedural Law, or Not? 7 Definition of ‘Case Management’ 8 Reforms 9 Small Claims Procedure 10 Final Appeals 11 Shortening First Instance Proceedings 12 The Use of ADR 13 Financing of Courts 14 Policy-Making and Case Management Structure 15 Routine Case-Processing v ‘Hard Cases’ 16 Concluding Remarks References Case Management from a Comparative Perspective: Horizontal and Vertical Court Arrangements 1 Introduction 2 Efficiency, Effectiveness, Courts and Rights Protection 3 Court and Case Management 4 Procedural Arrangements 5 Artificial Intelligence 6 Conclusions References Jurisdictional Contributions The Unified System of Adjudication and Administration of Chinese Courts 1 Introduction 2 The Historical Formation of the Unified System 3 The Unified System 3.1 No Clear Distinction of Staff Between Different Departments 3.2 Organizational Structure 3.3 Centralized Management of Court Staff 3.4 Critical Reflections on the Unified System 4 The Future of the Unified System References Taiwan’s Court Structure from a Case Management Perspective 1 Introduction 2 Current Court System and Types of Civil Procedure in Taiwan 2.1 Court System 2.2 Procedure 2.3 Case Distribution (案件分流) 2.4 Alternative Dispute Resolution 3 The Meaning and Role of Case Management 4 Case-Flow Management 5 Judicial Reform and the Future of Case Management 6 Conclusion References Civil Court Structure in Hong Kong 1 Introduction 2 Case Management and Reforms in the Litigation System 3 Horizontal Arrangement 4 Current Vertical Arrangements and Their Effectiveness from a Case Management Perspective 5 Court Funding, Court Composition and Case Management 6 Academic Views and ADR 7 Conclusion References The Formal Adequacy Principle from the Perspective of Judicial Case Management: Macau 1 Introduction 2 Development of Judicial Case Management: The Formal Adequacy Principle 3 Legal Regime of the Formal Adequacy Principle 3.1 General Provision 3.2 General Requirements 4 Effectiveness of Judicial Case Management by Implementation of the Formal Adequacy Principle 4.1 Adequacy by Way of Derogation from the Rule 4.2 Aggregation of Parties and Claims 4.3 Judicial Management 4.4 Consequences of the Infringement of Procedures Ordered by the Court 5 Conclusion References The Litigation Superpower’s Case Management Cure for Adversarial Ills 1 Introduction 2 The General Structure of American Court Systems 2.1 State v Federal Court 2.2 American Exceptionalism in Procedure 2.3 The Broad Authority of American First Instance—‘Trial’—Courts 2.4 Complex v Simple Cases 3 The Emergence of Widespread Case Management in US Courts 4 American Resistance to Case Management 4.1 Academic Resistance 4.2 Resistance to the Multidistrict Litigation Process 5 Link to Settlement Promotion 6 Conclusion References Framing the Structure of the Court System from a Case Management Perspective: New Trends in Brazilian Law 1 Introduction: What Is Case Management? 2 Who Manages? 3 What to Manage? Aggregation of Cases, Conflict Management, and Court Management 4 How to Manage? Objectives and Benefits of Case Management 5 New Perspectives on Case Management 6 New Developments in Case Management: Nature of the Parties, Litigation Agreements and Lack of Case Management 7 The New Structure of Court Management: A Global Trend in New Public Judicial Management, Outsourcing Justice and Privatization 8 Specialization of Courts 9 Proposals for the Development of Case Management: Case Assignment Management, Functionality, and Management of the Rules Governing the Allocation of Competences 10 Court Management, Specialization Focused on Judges, and Specialized Itinerant Judges 11 Concluding Remarks References Structure of the Court System and Case Management: Lessons from England & Wales 1 Introduction 2 Case Management’s Purpose 3 The Nature of Case and Costs Management 4 Procedural Case Tracks—Structural Proportionality 5 Case Management 6 Developments in Case Management 7 Conclusion References Framing the Structure of Court Systems from a Case Management Perspective: Lessons from Hungary 1 Vertical Arrangements 2 Horizontal Arrangements 3 Complexity Arrangements 4 Legal Historical Perspectives 5 Definition of ‘Case Management’ in Hungarian Academic Literature 6 Specific Procedural Design 7 Reforms 8 Final Appeals 9 First Instance 10 Mediation 11 Financing the Courts 12 Policy Making and Court Structure 13 Mass Case Processing References In Search of Efficiency: Court Structure and Case Management in Croatia 1 Introduction 2 Civil and Commercial Cases 3 Court Structure 4 Case Management 5 Conclusion References Special Themes A Brief Note on the Application of Information and Communication Technology in Civil Judicial Case Management 1 Introduction 2 e-Courts and Case Management 3 External e-Courts 4 Internal e-Courts 5 Conclusion References A Prospective Court-Connected Mandatory Mediation Regime in Macau: A Brief Note 1 Introduction 2 Macau’s Legal Culture and Mediation 3 Blueprint for Prospective Court-Connected Mandatory Mediation 4 Conclusion References