Andrew Higgins

Professor of Civil Procedure

Mansfield College

Biography

Andrew is Professor of Civil Justice Systems at the Law Faculty and a Fellow in Law at Mansfield College. He teaches and convenes the BCL/MJur Principles of Civil Procedure course and FHS Civil Dispute Resolution course.

Andrew is General Editor of Civil Justice Quarterly and recently completed his two term limit as academic member of the Civil Justice Council. The CJC is an advisory public body which was established under the Civil Procedure Act 1997 with responsibility for overseeing and co-ordinating the modernisation of the civil justice system. He chaired CJC's review of pre-action protocols.

Andrew completed a BA/LLB (hons) at the University of Melbourne in 2001 and the BCL in 2005. He completed a Dphil at Oxford on legal professional privilege in 2011. He has been a visiting scholar with NYU's Hauser Global Law School Program and is a Senior Teaching Fellow at Melbourne Law School, where he regularly teaches on the Melbourne Law Masters.

From 2011 to 2020 Andrew acted as special counsel for the Australian Government in the defence of is tobacco plain packaging laws from constitutional and intentional legal challenges, including Philip Morris' Investor State Arbitration claim and disputes bought by Dominican Republic and others before the World Trade Organisation. Andrew has worked extensively for the World Health Organisation on policy work related to its Framework Convention on Tobacco Control's expert group and Article 19 'Liability.' He has helped the World Health Organisation develop an online toolkit to assist Parties reform their civil justice systems as a means of implementing Article 19, and recently chaired the WHO-FCTC's Expert Group on Article 19. The Group's Report will be published in late 2025.

Andrew is a part time practising barrister at the English and Victorian Bars, and previously worked as a lawyer at the Australian law firm Slater & Gordon. His main area of practice is mass tort litigation, including class actions, and has worked on mining, asylum seeker, asbestos, thalidomide, and tobacco related litigation.

Andrew’s main research interests are civil procedure, causation and tort.

Publications

Journal Article (29)

Higgins A and Moorhead R, ‘We Need to Stop Privileging the Post Office-Lessons from the Royal Mail Horizon IT Inquiry’ (2025) 44(2) CIVIL JUSTICE QUARTERLY

Higgins A and Yap J, ‘Class Actions in Context: Distinguishing Regulation, Tort, and Procedure’

Higgins A and Tweddell M, ‘The Supreme Court Blows Up the Litigation Funding Market in PACCAR in the name of the Parliament-to the Surprise of Everyone Including the Parliament’ (2024) 43(1) CIVIL JUSTICE QUARTERLY 1

Higgins A, ‘Anonymity, Transparency and Integrity in Peer Reviews’ (2024) 43(2) CIVIL JUSTICE QUARTERLY

Higgins A, ‘Novak Djokovic through Australia’s Pandemic Looking Glass: Denied Natural Justice, Faulted by Open Justice and Failed by a Legal System Unable to Stop the Arbitrary Use of State Power’ (2022) 42 Civil Justice Quarterly 2022

Higgins A, ‘Novak Djokovic through Australia’s Pandemic Looking Glass. Denied Natural Justice, Faulted by Open Justice and Failed by a Legal System Unable to Stop the Arbitrary Use of State Power: <i>Djokovic v Minister for Immigration</i> [2022] FCAFC 3’ (2022) 41(2) CIVIL JUSTICE QUARTERLY 93

HIGGINS A, ‘What the Fair Minded Observer Really Thinks About Judicial Impartiality’ [2021] The Modern Law Review

Higgins A and Levy I, ‘What the Fair Minded Observer Really Thinks About Judicial Impartiality’ (2021) 84(4) MODERN LAW REVIEW 811

Higgins A, ‘Preface’ [2020] The Civil Procedure Rules at 20 vii

Higgins A, ‘The High Court Conflates Principle with History in Denying Privilege Protection to Data Hack and Leak Victims: <i>Glencore International AG v Commissioner of Taxation</i> [2019] HCA 26’ (2020) 39(2) CIVIL JUSTICE QUARTERLY 99

Higgins A and Levy I, ‘Judicial Policy, Public Perception, and the Science of Decision Making: A New Framework for the Law of Apprehended Bias’ (2018) 38 Civil Justice Quarterly

Higgins A, ‘The Supreme Court turns the judicial rhetoric on access to justice up to 11 as it strikes down unaffordable and disproportionate employment tribunal fees, but key questions about the funding of civil justice remain: The Unison Case’ (2018) 37 Civil Justice Quarterly 44896

Higgins A, ‘The Costs of Civil Justice and Who Pays?’ [2017] Oxford Journal of Legal Studies

Higgins A, ‘Rebooting the cab rank rule as a limited universal service obligation’ (2017) 70(2) Legal Ethics 201

Higgins A, ‘Driving with the handbrake on: Competition Class Actions under the Consumer Rights Act 2015’ [2016] The Modern Law Review

Higgins A and Zuckerman A, ‘Class Actions come to England-More Access to Justice and More of a Compensation Culture, but they are Superior to the Alternatives’ (2016) 35(1) CIVIL JUSTICE QUARTERLY 1

Higgins A, ‘Legal aid and access to justice in England and India’ (2014) 26(1) National Law School of India Review 13

Higgins A, ‘CPR3.9: the Mitchell guidance, the Denton revision and why coded messages don’t make for good case management’ (2014) 33(4) Civil Justice Quarterly 379

Higgins A and Zuckerman A, ‘Class Actions in England? Efficacy, Autonomy and Proportionality in Collective Redress’ [2013] (93) Oxford Legal Studies Research Paper

Higgins A and others, ‘A Higgins, J Walker, D Rowe and C Crifo, ’Thoughtful practitioners and an engaged legal community: the impact of the teaching of procedure on the legal profession and on civil justice reform’ (2013) Osgoode Hall Law Journal 155 - 198.’ (2013) 51 Osgoode Hall Law Journal 155

Higgins A, ‘A defence of qualified one way cost shifting’ (2013) 32 Civil Justice Quarterly 198

Higgins A, ‘Open Door Disclosure in Civil Litigation’ (2012) 16(3) The International Journal of Evidence & Proof 298

Higgins A, ‘Referral fees – the business of access to justice’ (2012) 32(1) Legal Studies 109

Higgins A, ‘Open door disclosure in civil proceedings’ (2012) 16(3) International Journal of Evidence and Proof 298

Higgins A, ‘Legal lessons from the News of the World phone hacking scandal’ (2012) 31(3) Civil Justice Quarterly 274

Higgins A, ‘Legal Advice Privilege and its Relevance to Corporations’ (2010) 73(3) Modern Law Review 371

Higgins A, ‘The costs of case management: what should be done post Jackson?’ [2010] Civil Justice Quarterly 317

Higgins A, ‘Corporate abuse of legal professional privilege’ (2008) 27 Civil Justice Quarterly 377

Walker J and others, ‘Thoughtful Practitioners and an Engaged Legal Community: The Impact of the Teaching of Procedure on the Legal Profession and on Civil Justice Reform’ 51(1) Osgoode Hall Law Journal 155

Higgins A, The civil procedure rules at 20 (2020) 1

Higgins A, Legal Professional Privilege for Corporations A Guide to Four Major Common Law Jurisdictions (Oxford University Press, USA 2014)

Higgins A, Legal professional privilege for corporations (OUP 2014)

Higgins A, ‘Keep calm and keep litigating’, The Civil Procedure Rules at 20 (2020)

Higgins A, Levy I and Lienart T, ‘The Bright but Modest Potential of Algorithms in the Courtroom’ in A Higgins and R Assy (eds.), Principles, Procedure and Justice: Essays in Honour of Adrian Zuckerman (Oxford University Press 2020)

Higgins A, ‘Joinder and Collective Redress’ in A Zuckerman (ed.), Zuckerman on Australian Civil Procedure (Lexis 2018)

Higgins A, ‘Privilege Against Self Incrimination’, Zuckerman on Australian Civil Procedure (Lexis 2018)

Higgins A, ‘Public Interest Immunity’ in A Zuckerman (ed.), Zuckerman on Australian Civil Procedure (Lexis 2018)

Higgins A, ‘Legal Professional Privilege’ in A Zuckerman (ed.), Zuckerman on Australian Civil Procedure (Lexis 2018)

Legg M and Higgins A, ‘Responding to Cost and Delay Through Overriding Objectives – Successful Innovation?’, The Dynamism of Civil Procedure - Global Trends and Developments (Springer Nature 2016)

Higgins A and Legg M, ‘A Higgins and M Legg, ’Responding to cost and delay through overriding objectives – successful innovation?’ in C Picker and G Seidman (eds.), The Dynamism of Civil Procedure – Global Trends and Developments (Ius Gentium: Comparative Perspectives on Law and Justice series 2015)

Higgins A, Mitchell A and Munro J, ‘Australia’s Plain Packaging of Tobacco Products’ in B Mercurio and K Ni (eds.), Science and Health Measures in International Economic Law (Routledge 2013)

Edited book (1)

Higgins A and Assy R, Principles Procedure and Justice: Essays in Honour of Adrian Zuckerman (Oxford University Press 2020)

Internet publication or blog post (1)

Higgins A, ‘Legal professional privilege is a human right, not a state right - the government must release its Brexit legal advice’ (The Independent, 1 December 2018)

Higgins A, ‘What Price Are We Willing to Pay for the Dream of Equal Justice?’ (2022) 42(1) Oxford Journal of Legal Studies 325 (review)

HIGGINS A, ‘The Rule of Law Case Against Inconsistency and in Favour of Mandatory Civil Legal Process’ [2019] Oxford Journal of Legal Studies (review)

Higgins A, ‘Too much and Too Little Secrecy in the Law of Corporate Privilege: SFO v ENRC [2018] EWCA Civ 2006 and WH Holding Ltd v E20 Stadium LLP [2018] EWCA Civ 2652’ (2019) 38 Civil Justice Quarterly 145 (case-note)

Higgins A and Zuckerman A, ‘Re Prudential plc [2013] UKSC 1: The Supreme Court leaves to Parliament the issue of privilege for tax advice by accountants, what Parliament should do is restrict privilege for tax advice given by lawyers.’ (2013) 32 Civil Justice Quarterly 313 (case-note)

Higgins A, ‘ECJ confirms no privilege for in-house counsel: Azko Nobel v European Commission’’ [2011] Civil Justice Quarterly 113 (case-note)

Higgins A, ‘BATAS v Laurie: apprehended bias and actual failure of case management’ [2011] Civil Justice Quarterly 246 (case-note)

Higgins A, ‘Ministry of Justice Consultation on Proposal for Reform: Alignment of the Fees for Online and Paper Civil Money and Possession Claims’ (2020) Civil Justice Council

Higgins A and Levy I, ‘The Perils of Peer Review: Can the The Process Be Improved?’ (2019) Civil Justice Quarterly 289

Higgins A and Zuckerman A, ‘Lord Justice Briggs’ SWOT analysis underlines English law’s troubled relationship with proportionate costs’ (2016) Civil Justice Quarterly 1

Higgins A, ‘Civil justice in a shrinking state’ (2015) Civil Justice Quarterly 221

Higgins A, ‘The Rule of Law Case Against Inconsistency and In Favour of Mandatory Civil Legal Process’

Higgins A and Zuckerman A, ‘Class Actions in England? Efficacy, Autonomy and Proportionality in Collective Redress’

Higgins A and Yap J, ‘Class Actions in Context: Distinguishing Regulation, Tort, and Procedure’