The number of High Court claims hit a new low last year, the first full year under the new Civil Procedure Rules, with official figures showing claims in the Queen’s Bench Division (QBD) falling 63% on pre-Woolf levels.

The Judicial Statistics Annual Report 2000, published this month, shows claims issued in the QBD, including commercial, technology and admiralty court, fell to 26,876, against 72,161 in 1999.