Practice and procedure

From 22 April 2014, the single Family Court replaced the previous three tiers of court structure (family proceedings court, county court and High Court). The High Court has retained exclusive jurisdiction over a limited number of cases. See Practice Note: The single Family Court.

In January 2018, the then President of the Family Division, Sir James Munby announced the launch of the Financial Remedies Court pilots and the proposed structure and geography of the Financial Remedies Court. Subsequently a national lead judge and deputy lead judge have been appointed and guidance was issued in November 2019 as to the Financial Remedies Court zones and the appointment of a lead judge for each zone. Specific considerations apply as to an application in the Financial Remedies Court as to allocation, the accelerated first appointment procedure and best practice. See Practice Note: The Financial Remedies Court.

A ‘Statement on the efficient conduct of financial remedy hearings allocated to a High Court judge whether sitting at the Royal Courts of Justice or elsewhere’ was issued in 2016 (amending previous versions) and is now accompanied by a ‘Statement on the

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Latest Family News

Family Procedure Rules 2010 Practice Direction Update No 7 of 2024

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Online Procedure Rule Committee minutes—2024 in review

The Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC), established under the Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (JRACA 2022), creates rules governing the practice and procedure for specific types of online court and tribunal proceedings across the Civil, Family and Tribunal jurisdictions (CFT). The OPRC holds regular meetings, for which the minutes are published. This News Analysis summarises the key developments in 2024 and looks forward to potential future developments.

Family weekly highlights—19 December 2024

This week's edition of Family weekly highlights includes details of the Family Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2024, the Law Commission scoping paper on financial remedies on divorce and dissolution and minutes from the Online Procedure Rule Committee meetings. The Family Procedure Rules 2010 Practice Direction Update No 7 of 2024 is also considered. Recent judgements on representation and procedural unfairness, inter-country adoption and strike out of an application for nullity are considered. Three new graphics added to Practice Notes in Family Practical Guidance are also set out.

Law Commission scoping paper on financial remedies on divorce and dissolution

Family analysis: The Law Commission has published a scoping paper on financial remedies on divorce and dissolution. The fundamental question underlying this project was whether the current law ‘provides a cohesive framework in which parties to a divorce or dissolution can expect fair and sufficiently certain outcomes’. The Law Commission found that it does not. This News Analysis considers the background to this project, the Law Commission’s findings and what might happen next.