Rudimentary Prototypes in Case Management Techniques (1919–49)

In his treatise on The Common Law Oliver Wendall Holmes stated that: ‘The life of the law has not been logic: it has been experience.’ In this chapter the contribution of Sir Francis Newbolt K.C. is considered and if any judgement can be placed on that it is that of Holmes. His work demonstrated that it was very possibly his procedural ‘experiments’ lost to history that gave birth to this distinct court and the innovative approach of its judiciary. In researching the story of the Official Referees’ Court, I found that its particular procedural characteristics had been created through the experience of the judges and especially so by the creativity of Sir Francis Newbolt. Thus in this chapter we explore by reference to the contemporaneous documentary evidence relating to the invention of a rudimentary form of case management techniques as practised by Sir Francis Newbolt in the 1920s. Here we focus on micro-management aspects of Newbolt’s ‘Scheme’ and the reasons for it; an assessment of its impact, and the extent to which it promoted earlier settlement and saved costs.

Reproduced with permission.