The overriding objective is for the court to deal with a case justly and so far as is practical to ensure that:
a) the parties are on an equal footing;
b) expense is saved;
c) the case is dealt with in ways which are proportionate:
a. to the amount of money involved;
b. to the importance of the case;
c. to the complexity of the issues; and
d. to the financial position of each party;
d) the case is dealt with expeditiously and fairly; and
e) an appropriate share of the courts resources are alloted, while taking into account the need to allot resources to other cases.
The parties in a case are required to help the court to further these overriding objectives, and the judge is required to actively manage a case by:
a) encouraging the parties to co-operate with each other in the conduct of the proceedings;
b) identifying the issues at an early stage;
c) deciding promptly which issues need full investigation and trial and accordingly disposing summarily of the others;
d) deciding the order in which issues are to be resolved.
