Explain summary judgment in English civil procedure.

Summary judgment is a procedure in English civil procedure that allows a party to obtain judgment without a full trial. It is often used where one party believes that the other party has no real prospect of succeeding on the claim or defence, or where the claim or defence has no real prospect of success and there is no other compelling reason for a trial. The procedure for summary judgment is set out in Part 24 of the Civil Procedure Rules. In order to obtain summary judgment, the party must demonstrate to the court that: There is no real prospect of success for the other party's claim or defence, or that there is no other compelling reason why the case should proceed to trial; and There is no need for a trial to resolve the issues in dispute, or that it is in the interests of justice to dispose of the case without a trial. In order to demonstrate that there is no real prospect of success for the other party's claim or defence, the party seeking summary judgment must show that there is no credible evidence to support the claim or defence, or that the evidence is so weak that it would be unlikely to succeed at trial. If the court is satisfied that there is no real prospect of success for the other party's claim or defence, it may grant summary judgment in favour of the party seeking judgment. Alternatively, if the court is satisfied that there is a need for a trial or that it is in the interests of justice to proceed to trial, it may refuse to grant summary judgment. Summary judgment can be a useful tool for parties in English civil procedure, as it can save time and costs by avoiding a full trial. However, it should only be used where the prospects of success are clearly in favour of the party seeking judgment, and where there is no other compelling reason to proceed to trial.