Procedure and case management

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Public Law Outline

The Public Law Outline is set out in the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) at FPR 2010, PD 12A and provides for a tightly managed case management system for proceedings under Part IV of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) including:

  1. •

    pre-proceedings checklists

  2. •

    advocates’ meetings

  3. •

    case management hearings

  4. •

    issues resolution hearings, and

  5. •

    more standardised disclosure and directions

See Practice Note: Public law children procedure—Public Law Outline.

Online public law children proceedings

Pilot schemes are in place in relation to public law children proceedings that provide for the issue and management of proceedings online via the MyHMCTS portal.

See Practice Note: Online public law children proceedings.

Jurisdictional issues

The habitual residence of a child may be a significant factor in the determination of jurisdiction in children proceedings. Habitual residence is a question of fact and not a legal concept such as domicile—there is no legal rule akin to that whereby a child automatically takes the domicile of their parents. The habitual residence of a child corresponds to the place which reflects

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