The rules that determine whether a civil claim begins in the County Court or the High Court — thresholds, factors, divisions and the forums some claims cannot avoid.
Issuing in the wrong court is a mistake the Civil Procedure Rules are designed to prevent, and one that can cost a successful claimant part of their recovery. This chapter opens with the two civil courts and the Part 7 and Part 8 procedures for starting a claim, then sets out the financial thresholds for personal injury and other claims and explains why crossing £100,000 does not by itself make the High Court appropriate. It moves on to the non-financial factors — complexity, importance, remedies — that shape the choice, before mapping the High Court's divisions, the Business and Property Courts, and the claims with a mandatory forum, including judicial review, defamation and search orders. It closes with transfer between the courts and the costs consequences of starting in the wrong one.
