Powered by Lexis+®
Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom
CASE STUDY

“We have to become more agile as our clients' expectations and requirements change. The only thing we know is that tomorrow is going to be different and we must be prepared. With LexisNexis, I feel more confident of that we're ready every time.”

Wolverhampton County Council

Access all documents on Preliminary Hearing

Preliminary Hearing meaning

/prɪˈlɪmɪn(ə)ri/ /ˈhɪərɪŋ/
What does Preliminary Hearing mean?
In arbitration, a preliminary hearing is an early case‑management meeting convened by the arbitral tribunal soon after its constitution to organise the conduct of the arbitration and set a procedural timetable. It is typically held by telephone or video conference, or in person, with the parties and their legal representatives. The term is not defined in the Arbitration Act 1996, the Arbitration (Scotland) Act 2010 or the Irish Arbitration Act 2010; it is a widely used practice term across institutional and ad hoc arbitrations (often called a case management conference or first session). At a preliminary hearing the tribunal usually addresses: the seat, language and governing law; confidentiality and channels of communication; the pleadings schedule; document production and e‑disclosure; factual and expert evidence; any jurisdictional or other preliminary issues; interim measures and security for costs; the format of any oral hearing; and an efficient, realistic timetable. Directions are commonly recorded in Procedural Order No. 1 (and, in ICC cases, complemented by Terms of Reference). Usage and purpose are broadly consistent across England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, subject to institutional rules (for example, LCIA and ICC). In other fora (such as employment tribunals or criminal proceedings) “preliminary hearing” has different...
Speed up all aspects of your legal work with tools that help you to work faster and smarter. Win cases, close deals and grow your business–all whilst saving time and reducing risk.

View the related Checklists about Preliminary Hearing

CHECKLISTS
SIAC 2025 Arbitration Rules: Practical Checklist of Key Steps, Time Limits, Emergency and Expedited Procedures, Jurisdiction, Evidence, Hearings, Awards and Costs

Before commencing the arbitration Check limits; confirm SIAC clause; interim relief; tribunal size; proper nominations. Emergency measures Seek Emergency Arbitrator pre-constitution; urgent, Registrar-approved, binding relief. Expedited Procedure Apply pre-constitution; expect sole arbitrator, streamlined process, six‑month award. Commencing the arbitration Serve Notice on Registrar/respondent with required particulars, funding statement, fee. Responding to the arbitration Respond within 14 days; address claims, jurisdiction and counterclaims. Jurisdiction Arbitration proceeds unless screened; tribunal rules; object under Rule 31. Preliminary meeting and directions Attend administrative calls; hold early case management conference. Written statements File Claim, Defence, Counterclaim as directed; state facts, grounds, relief. Evidence Tribunal controls evidence; written testimony allowed; oral examination on request. The hearing Any party may...

Read More Right Arrow
CHECKLISTS
Preliminary meetings in arbitration: a practitioner’s checklist for case management, jurisdictional issues, evidence, interim relief, split trials, hearing preparation and costs

This Checklist This checklist reviews the procedural and related issues the tribunal is expected to address at a preliminary meeting in arbitration, whether the process is ad hoc or under an arbitral institution. Matters typically cover jurisdictional objections, applications for interim measures or the trial of preliminary points, setting schedules for the progress of elements of the reference, and organising how all the evidence will be exchanged and presented. Whatever the forum—ad hoc or institutional—and whichever institutional rules govern, the tribunal will usually convene a preliminary meeting soon after it is formed. The parties themselves (rather than their advisers) are generally not obliged to attend this session, although it is advantageous if they do, as they will meet the tribunal and confront the opposing team at an early juncture. In international cases, it may also be one of the few chances for everyone involved to be physically together before the main hearing, and it may provide a window for separate settlement discussions. Whether that is suitable can depend on...

Read More Right Arrow
CHECKLISTS
Checklist for obtaining and enforcing orders for possession following lease expiry (England and Wales)

Checklist This Checklist outlines a non-exhaustive set of points to review when bringing a possession claim after a lease has expired, and for enforcing any order then secured...

Read More Right Arrow

View the related News about Preliminary Hearing

NEWS
Dispute Resolution Weekly: CPRC reforms, junior advocacy guidance, cryptoasset injunctions, solicitor-client costs/CFA rulings, disclosure and appeals updates, consultations and key dates (England and Wales), 17 July 2025

In this issue Key DR developments Claims and remedies Costs and funding Litigation Applications—general Evidence and disclosure Appeals New content Dates for your diary Useful information Daily and weekly news alerts Key DR developments CPR Committee minutes Minutes of the CPR Committee meeting—6 June 2025: The Civil Procedure Rule Committee met on 6 June 2025 in a hybrid session at The Rolls Building (Royal Courts of Justice) and via video conference. The minutes confirm a forthcoming CPR 51 pilot enabling non-parties to obtain court documents, arising from the Supreme Court ruling in Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring [2019] UKSC 38. They also record approved amendments to the e‑working pilot, progressing towards a permanent electronic filing system as part of ongoing court modernisation. Further topics included summary assessment of costs, arbitration updates, disclosure, civil restraint orders, closed material procedures, judicial review reforms for infrastructure projects, whiplash reforms, digital services and other procedural...

Read More Right Arrow
NEWS
England and Wales High Court refuses preliminary limitation trial in phone-hacking litigation: Steele v Steele factors, late application, and risk of delays and costs; LA 1980 s32

Various Claimants v News Group Newspapers Ltd [2024] EWHC 902 (Ch) What are the practical implications of this case? This notable judgment examines when it is right to direct a trial of a preliminary issue before the main hearing. The court emphasised that limitation issues are often apt for early determination, and warned that if such questions are left to be decided only at the final trial, the policy basis of limitation law would be weakened. It also confirms that the governing approach to ordering a preliminary issue trial lies in the ten factors identified by Neuberger J in Steele v Steele [2001] CP Rep 106 (not reported by LexisNexis®UK). In brief, while limitation is frequently suitable for preliminary resolution, the court must still apply those factors when deciding whether a discrete issue should be tried first...

Read More Right Arrow
NEWS
FTT Tax Chamber holds HMRC VAT assessments time-barred under VATA 1994 s77; fairness arguments rejected (Monmore Properties Ltd v HMRC)

Monmore Properties Ltd v HMRC [2024] UKFTT 127 (TC) The appellant acted as the representative member of a Value Added Tax (VAT) group. The tribunal’s determination arose from a preliminary hearing convened to resolve two threshold issues: whether the appellant’s appeal had been brought within time, and whether HMRC’s assessments covering a 27‑month span (five VAT return periods) were out of time. The broader controversy was not addressed at this stage, as it was a matter for the substantive appeal, and concerned the VAT treatment of services provided by VAT group members to persons outside the VAT group. At the preliminary hearing it was also established that HMRC had not issued a single global assessment. That clarification was relevant because the wider dispute referred to...

Read More Right Arrow

View the related Practice Notes about Preliminary Hearing

PRACTICE NOTES
LTA 1954 business tenancy renewals and terminations: court applications, opposed/unopposed procedure, time limits, interim rent and PACT (England and Wales)

Practice Note This Practice Note sets out the full procedural guidance for court applications to renew or end a business tenancy, covers interim rent applications, and addresses Professional Arbitration on Court Terms (PACT)...

Read More Right Arrow
PRACTICE NOTES
CPR Part 36 (England and Wales): Transitional provisions from 6 April 2015—practical scenarios on acceptance and disclosure of pre‑6 April offers, split trials, and strategic considerations

ARCHIVED : This Practice Note has been archived and is not maintained. This Practice Note explains the transitional arrangements for CPR 36 following its April 2015 re-write. It belongs to a collection of Practice Notes created for the joint LexisNexis and St Philips Commercial seminar series on the changes to Part 36 held in Leeds, Birmingham and London in January 2015. To obtain all supporting materials and the recording of the April 2015 London Part 36 session, please visit our LexisNexis Dispute Resolution blog and register. For additional Practice Notes in this suite on the updated CPR 36, refer to the related content links on the right-hand side. What is happening and when? The new CPR 36 took effect in full on 6 April 2015 and applies to every Part 36 offer made on or after 6 April 2015. Nevertheless, several of the new rules also apply (from 6 April 2015) to Part 36 offers that were made before that date. Below we identify those provisions and...

Read More Right Arrow
PRACTICE NOTES
Applications for permission to appeal under CPR Part 52: timing, adjournments, extensions and procedure in the lower courts and Court of Appeal, and respondents’ role (England and Wales)

This Practice Note sets out guidance on seeking permission to appeal (PTA) under CPR Part 52 in both the lower court and the appellate court (CPR 52.3(2)). It explains how to challenge decisions of lower courts and the steps for making PTA applications in the court below. It also addresses the need to apply at the conclusion of the hearing in the lower court, together with the deadlines for requesting PTA from the appellate court where no application was made below or where the lower court has refused PTA. The Note specifically considers applications for permission to the Court of Appeal where no oral hearing is directed, the respondent’s role (and potential costs) and the actions open to a respondent, as well as the procedure and particular provisions for the County Court, High Court and Court of Appeal, and how (and by whom) a PTA application will be decided. Be aware that CPR 52 and the related practice directions were substantially revised in October 2017, so caution is required when...

Read More Right Arrow

View the related Precedents about Preliminary Hearing

PRECEDENTS
Agenda for Case Management at Preliminary Hearing (England and Wales) – Word/PDF and Welsh Versions

Agenda for case management hearing (England and Wales) Click below to get the Word edition of the Agenda for case management (England and Wales): Agenda for case management hearing (England and Wales)—Word version. Click to get the PDF edition of the Agenda for case management (England and Wales): Agenda for case management hearing (England and Wales)—PDF version. For Welsh versions, see: Agenda Rheoli Achosion (Cymru a Lloegr)—Cymraeg—Word Agenda Rheoli Achosion (Cymru a Lloegr)—Cymraeg—PDF ...

Read More Right Arrow
PRECEDENTS
Court directions order template for opposed LTA 1954 business lease renewal: preliminary section 30(1) issue (England and Wales)

Claim No. [ insert claim number ]. [ IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE [ BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS [ OF ENGLAND AND WALES OR IN [ insert location ] ] ] [ State division ] [ Identify specialist court ] [ Insert location ] DISTRICT REGISTRY OR THE COUNTY COURT AT [ insert location ] [ BUSINESS AND PROPERTY COURTS LIST ] ] Before [ The Honourable Mr Justice OR The Honourable Mrs Justice OR His Honour Judge OR Her Honour Judge OR Master OR District Judge ] [ insert name ] dated: [ insert date ] between: [ insert name ] Claimant and [ insert name ] Defendant Directions Having considered the allocation questionnaires provided by the parties. [ upon the parties having agreed the directions set out below. AND upon hearing the parties. ] The following is ordered: Allocation [ The matter is allocated to the multi-track. Cost budgeting is dispensed with. OR The matter is allocated to the fast-track. ]... ...

Read More Right Arrow
PRECEDENTS
Employment Tribunal case management directions and orders template: schedules of loss, disclosure, bundles, witness evidence, experts, preliminary issues and skeleton arguments (England, Wales and Scotland)

Standard case management directions The Claimant must supply the Respondent with a schedule of loss by 4:00pm on [ insert date ] [ along with any materials pertinent to mitigation of loss and any papers that substantiate the amounts stated in the schedule ]. The Claimant must revise the schedule of loss a fortnight before the substantive hearing. [ A list of issues to be settled on or before 4:00pm on [ insert date ]. OR The Claimant to deliver a draft list of issues to the Respondent on or before 4:00pm on [ insert date ], and the Respondent to return any revisions on or before 4:00pm on [ insert date ]. ] The Respondent must serve a counter-schedule of loss on or before 4:00pm on [ insert date ], identifying which parts of the schedule of loss are challenged and the reasons, together with any alternative figures and computations advanced...

Read More Right Arrow

View the related Q&As about Preliminary Hearing

Q&As
Third-party TOLATA 1996 prelim: costs form for PTR/final in FR

It is commonplace in financial remedy proceedings for a third party to be added to the case, either to advance a claim to a beneficial interest in a property or other asset, or to permit making of an order for sale in relation to that property. In TL v ML, Mostyn J articulated the procedural principles to be applied to such matters...

Read More Right Arrow