The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) are the rules of 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...

 used by the Court of Appeal, High Court of Justice

High Court of Justice

The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...

, and County Court

County Court

A county court is a court based in or with a jurisdiction covering one or more counties, which are administrative divisions within a country, not to be confused with the medieval system of county courts held by the High Sheriff of each county.-England and Wales:County Court matters can be lodged...

s in civil cases

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...

 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...

. They apply to all cases commenced after 26 April 1999, and largely replace the Rules of the Supreme Court

Rules of the Supreme Court

The Rules of the Supreme Court were the rules which governed civil procedure in the Supreme Court of Judicature of England and Wales from its formation in 1883 until 1999....

 and the County Court Rules.

The CPR were designed to improve access to justice by making legal proceedings cheaper, quicker, and easier to understand for non-lawyers. Unlike the previous rules of 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...

, the CPR commence with a statement of their “Overriding Objective”, both to aid in the application of specific provisions and to guide behaviour where no specific rule applies.
In 1994, 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...

 instructed the 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...

, Lord Woolf

Harry Woolf, Baron Woolf

Harry Kenneth Woolf, Baron Woolf, PC, FBA, , born 2 May 1933, was Master of the Rolls from 1996 until 2000 and Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales from 2000 until 2005. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 made him the first Lord Chief Justice to be President of the Courts of England and Wales...

, to report on options to consolidate the existing rules of civil procedure.

On 26 July 1996, Lord Woolf published his Access to Justice Report 1996 in which he "...identified a number of principles which the civil justice system should meet in order to ensure access to justice.