Access to the Court of Appeal is being restricted with effect from 3 October 2016 by means of important changes to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). The headline changes are:

• Removal of the automatic right to an oral hearing when renewing an unsuccessful application for permission to appeal. Renewed applications will be determined on the papers, but a judge can exceptionally direct an oral hearing.
• The test for permission on second appeals is re-worded to require “a real prospect of success” (in addition to an important point of principle or practice).
• New seven day time limit for appeals from refusals of permission to apply for judicial review by the Upper Tribunal.

Part 52 of the Civil Procedure Rules is also generally restructured and reordered. The new version is available here.

The old rules continue to apply to cases in which appellants’ notices or review or reconsideration requests were lodged before 3 October 2016.

A proposed increase in the threshold for permission to appeal being granted — from “real” prospect of success to “substantial” prospect of success — has not been introduced.

There’s a useful background note from Herbert Smith Freehills here and a very good blog piece by Gordon Exall of Civil Litigation Brief here.