The Civil Justice Council (CJC) is looking to encourage more claims to be settled by alternative dispute resolution, with proposals to reform pre-action protocols.
The CJC is proposing to reduce the number of pre-action protocols, which dictates the way cases are dealt with prior to litigation.
It suggests reducing them from nine to one.
The aim is to drive down legal costs, speeding up the process of settlement and avoiding litigation.
The consultation comes just weeks ahead of a government consultation which is expected to propose further reforms to streamline the claims process.
The CJC said: "Many of the protocols contain the same core steps and guidance as each other, resulting in unnecessary duplication of guidance and instruction."
