The Family Court (Composition and Distribution of Business) Rules 2014

JurisdictionUK Non-devolved
CitationSI 2014/840
  • These Rules may be cited as the Family Court (Composition and Distribution of Business) Rules 2014 and come into force on 22nd April 2014.
  • (1) In these Rules—
    • the 1991 Act” means the Child Support Act 1991 ;
    • appeal” includes an application seeking permission to appeal and an application in the course of the appeal proceedings;
    • ...
    • “authorised”, except in the context of references to an authorised court officer, means authorised by the President of the Family Division or nominated by or on behalf of the Lord Chief Justice to conduct particular business in the family court, in accordance with Part 3;
    • authorised court officer” has the meaning assigned to it by rule 44.1 of the Civil Procedure Rules 1998 as applied to family proceedings by rule 28.2(1) of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 ;
    • costs judge” means—
      • (a) the Chief Taxing Master;
      • (b) a taxing master of the Senior Courts; or
      • (c) a person appointed to act as deputy for the person holding office referred to in paragraph (b) or to act as a temporary additional officer for any such office;
    • financial remedy” has the meaning assigned to it by rule 2.3 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010;
    • judge of circuit judge level” means—
      • (a) a circuit judge who, where applicable, is authorised;
      • (b) a Recorder who, where applicable, is authorised;
      • (c) any other judge of the family court authorised to sit as a judge of circuit judge level in the family court;
    • judge of district judge level” means—
      • (a) the Senior District Judge of the Family Division;
      • (b) a district judge of the Principal Registry of the Family Division;
      • (c) a person appointed to act as deputy for the person holding office referred to in paragraph (b) or to act as a temporary additional officer for any such office;
      • (d) a district judge who, where applicable, is authorised;
      • (e) a deputy district judge appointed under section 102 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 or section 8 of the County Courts Act 1984 who, where applicable, is authorised;
      • (f) an authorised District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) ;
      • (g) any other judge of the family court authorised to sit as a judge of district judge level in the family court.
    • judge of High Court judge level” means—
      • (a) a deputy judge of the High Court;
      • (b) a puisne judge of the High Court;
      • (c) a person who has been a judge of the Court of Appeal or a puisne judge of the High Court who may act as a judge of the family court by virtue of section 9 of the Senior Courts Act 1981 ;
      • (d) the Senior President of Tribunals;
      • (e) the Chancellor of the High Court;
      • (f) an ordinary judge of the Court of Appeal (including the vice-president, if any, of either division of that court) ;
      • (g) the President of the Queen's Bench Division;
      • (h) the President of the Family Division;
      • (i) the Master of the Rolls;
      • (j) the Lord Chief Justice;
    • judge of the family court” means a judge referred to in section 31C(1) of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 ;
    • ...
    • lay justice” means an authorised justice of the peace who is not a District Judge (Magistrates' Courts) .
    (2) In these Rules, references to provisions of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 a judge of district judge level;a judge of circuit judge level; ora judge of High Court judge level; ortwo or three lay justices.(2) Where paragraph (1) (b) applies, the court shall include, so far as is practicable, both a man and a woman.
  • a judge of district judge level;
  • a judge of circuit judge level.
  • regulation 25AB(1) of the Child Support (Collection and Enforcement) Regulations 1992 (Appeals) section 20(1) (a) or (b) of the 1991 Act to a court by virtue of article 3 of the Child Support Appeals (Jurisdiction of Courts) Order 2002 (2) The family court may be composed of a judge of district judge level when hearing applications in the course of appeal proceedings against decisions of persons referred to in rule 6(2) (b) to (d) or decisions of the court referred to in rule 6(3) .(3) The family court shall be composed of a costs judge or a district judge of the High Court when hearing an appeal against the decision of an authorised court officer.a judge of circuit judge level; ora judge of High Court level where there is a need for such a level of judge to hear the appeal to make most effective and efficient use of local judicial resource and the resource of the High Court bench.a judge of district judge level;two or three lay justices;a lay justice; orF87a person nominated by the Lord Chancellor who is authorised to exercise functions under section 31O(1) of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984.(3) The court referred to in paragraph (1) is a magistrates' court where an appeal is brought under section 111A of the Magistrates' Courts Act 1980 the Senior District Judge of the Family Division in financial remedy proceedings;. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .a costs judge; orthe Gender Recognition Panel where an appeal is brought under section 8(1) of the Gender Recognition Act 2004 an appeal against a decision referred to in rules 5 and 6; andthe Designated Family Judge or a judge of High Court level considers that the appeal would raise an important point of principle or practice.was before two or three lay justices; andwas part heard.(2) The court which resumes the hearing shall, wherever possible, be composed of the same lay justices as dealt with the previous part of the hearing.(1) Paragraph (2) applies to business in such categories as may be specified from time to time by the President of the Family Division.(2) A judge of district judge level or a judge of circuit judge level may conduct business to which this paragraph applies in the family court only if authorised by the President of the Family Division to do so.(3) The President of the Family Division may specify the matters referred to in paragraph (1) in directions, after consulting the Lord Chancellor.(4) A lay justice may conduct business in the family court only if authorised by the Lord Chief Justice to do so.
  • In this Part, “
  • (1) When the family court is composed of two or three lay justices, it shall sit under the chairmanship of a lay justice who F77has been approved to preside in accordance with the 2016 Rules.under the supervision of another authorised lay justice who is F79approved to preside in accordance with the 2016 Rules; andhas completed the training course required by F80rule 19 of the 2016 Rules.(3) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(4) This rule and rule 12 are subject

    To continue reading

    Request your trial

    VLEX uses login cookies to provide you with a better browsing experience. If you click on 'Accept' or continue browsing this site we consider that you accept our cookie policy. ACCEPT