Neha Patil (Editor)

Civil restraint order

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In the law of England and Wales, a civil restraint order (CRO) is a court order intended to prevent vexatious litigation. Courts have the means of escalating the sanctions against a litigant who makes applications to the court that are "totally without merit":

There are three types of CRO: limited, extended and general, with different scopes of application:

  • a limited civil restraint order (formerly a Grepe v. Loam order) where two or more applications totally without merit are made in a single proceedings. No further application may be made in the proceedings without the permission of the court.
  • an extended civil restraint order (formerly an Ebert order) for "persistently vexatious behaviour" lasts for a specified period of no more than two years for "applications touching upon instant matters" and can only be granted by a judge of the Court of Appeal, High Court or a designated civil judge.
  • a general civil restraint order (formerly a Bhamjee order) for a maximum of two years for all proceedings in the High Court or specified county courts.

    • Further applications totally without merit can lead to withdrawal of the right of appeal. Harassment of the court and court officials can lead to a penal prohibition notice, prohibiting the litigant from contacting or approaching the court without permission.

    HM Courts Service maintains a list of vexatious litigants.

    References

    Civil restraint order Wikipedia
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