Abolition of dispute resolution division reduces number of cases decided by Civil Court

The number of cases decided by the Civil Court has decreased in 2022 due to the court's Dispute Resolution Division being dissolved last year.

A Dispute Resolution Division was established in 2015 by a Supreme Court circular to ensure amicable settlement of cases filed at the Civil Court. The establishment of the division allowed for half of the cases to be decided without trial.

However, a practice direction of the Supreme Court decided to abolish the dispute resolution process from February last year. The number of cases decided by the Civil Court has now decreased.

According to statistics released by the Civil Court, more than 4,600 cases were decided in 2021, compared to 2,917 cases decided last year. By the end of more than 4,800 cases remained pending.

The figures state that more than 5,000 cases were filed in the Civil Court in 2022. At the end of last year, the court had more than 900 cases that were pending for over a year.

In addition to the Dispute Resolution Division, the Supreme Court also abolished the divisions based on the size and type of cases last year. It was also arranged for cases related to inheritance to be heard by the Civil Court instead of the Family Court.