Amendment to the Civil Procedure Rules 1998
4. In Part 14—
(a)for the heading in rule 14.1, substitute “Admissions made after commencement of proceedings”;
(b)for rule 14.1(5), substitute “The permission of the court is required to amend or withdraw an admission.”; and
(c)after rule 14.1, insert—
“Admissions made before commencement of proceedings
14.1A—(1) A person may, by giving notice in writing, admit the truth of the whole or any part of another party’s case before commencement of proceedings (a ‘pre-action admission’).
(2) Paragraphs (3) to (5) of this rule apply to a pre-action admission made in the types of proceedings listed at paragraph 1.1(2) of the Practice Direction to this Part if one of the following conditions is met—
(a)it is made after the party making it has received a letter of claim in accordance with the relevant pre-action protocol; or
(b)it is made before such letter of claim has been received, but it is stated to be made under Part 14.
(3) A person may, by giving notice in writing, withdraw a pre-action admission—
(a)before commencement of proceedings, if the person to whom the admission was made agrees;
(b)after commencement of proceedings, if all parties to the proceedings consent or with the permission of the court.
(4) After commencement of proceedings—
(a)any party may apply for judgment on the pre-action admission; and
(b)the party who made the pre-action admission may apply to withdraw it.
(5) An application to withdraw a pre-action admission or to enter judgment on such an admission—
(a)must be made in accordance with Part 23;
(b)may be made as a cross-application.”.