12.—(1) There shall be a committee known as the Northern Ireland Family Proceedings Rules Committee ( “the Committee”)F1 which may, with the concurrence of the Lord Chancellor, make rules of court for the purposes of family proceedings.
(2) Schedule 2 shall have effect with respect to the Committee.
(3) Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (1),F1 rules of court made under this Article—
(a)may, for the purposes mentioned in paragraph (1), make, in relation to both the High Court and county courts, any provision of a kind which could be made by rules of court as defined by section 21(4) of the Interpretation Act (Northern Ireland) 1954F2 and, in relation to county courts, any provision of a kind which could be made by county court rules (and accordingly in any statutory provision empowering the making of rules of court as so defined, any reference to theF1 Supreme Court or the High Court shall, for the purposes of this Article, include a reference to a county court);
(b)without prejudice to sub-paragraph (a), may provide that a decree pronounced by an officer of a class designated by the rules shall have the same effect as a decree pronounced by a county court judge;
(c)may apply, with or without modifications, any rules of court (as so defined) and any county court rules;
(d)may modify or exclude the application of any such rules or of any provision of the County Courts (Northern Ireland) Order 1980F3;
(e)without prejudice to sub-paragraph (a), may make with respect to proceedings in a county court any provision regarding the Official Solicitor or any solicitor of theF1 Supreme Court which could be made by rules of court with respect to proceedings in the High Court;
(f)may provide for the enforcement of orders made in a county court as if they were orders of the High Court, and for that purpose apply any statutory provision, with or without modification;
F4(g)may provide that the sums payable under Article 13(1) of the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981F5 to a solicitor or counsel acting in a matrimonial cause within the meaning of Article 48 of the Matrimonial Causes (Northern Ireland) Order 1978F6[F7 or a civil partnership cause within the meaning of section 190(3) of the Civil Partnership Act 2004] which is treated for the purposes of that Article 48[F7 that section 190(3)] as undefended shall, at his election, be either—
(i)such fixed amount specified in the rules as may be applicable under the rules; or
(ii)an amount ascertained on taxation or assessment of costs as provided by Schedule 2 to the Order of 1981;
and may provide for modifying that Schedule in relation to any proceedings which for the purposes of that Article 48[F7 that section 190(3)] are at any stage treated as pending in a divorce county court[F7 or civil partnership proceedings county court];
(h)which relate to the costs of proceedings, may—
(i)amend or repeal any statutory provision relating to the practice and procedure of theF1 Supreme Court or county courts so far as may be necessary in consequence of provision made by the rules; and
(ii)notwithstanding anything in the Legal Aid, Advice and Assistance (Northern Ireland) Order 1981F8, make different provision according to whether each or any of the parties is entitled to legal aid under Part II of that Order in connection with the proceedings.
(4) F1Rules of court made under this Article shall be subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament in like manner as a statutory instrument and section 5 of the Statutory Instruments Act 1946F9 shall apply accordingly.
(5) In this ArticleF10
“family business” means business of any description in the High Court assigned to the Family Division and to no other Division by rules of court except business—
“family proceedings” means proceedings which are family business and any corresponding proceedings in a county court.F10
F4prosp. rep. by 2003 NI 10
13.—(1) The functions which immediately before the transfer date are excercisable by the Secretary of State under the provisions specified in Schedule 3 (which confer miscellaneous functions) are hereby transferred to the Lord Chancellor.
(2) In the provisions specified in Schedule 3 for “Secretary of State” wherever it occurs, there shall be substituted “Lord Chancellor”.
(3) In the construction and for the purposes of any statutory provision, judgment, decree, order, award, deed, contract, regulation, byelaw, certificate or other document passed or made before the transfer date, any reference to, or which is to be construed as a reference to, the Secretary of State shall, so far only as may be necessary for the purposes of this Article, be construed as a reference to the Lord Chancellor.
(4) The transfer of functions by this Article shall not affect any order, regulation, rule, appointment, direction, instruction, approval, requirement or authorisation made or given or other thing done by the Secretary of State before the transfer date, but any such matter shall, if in force immediately before that date, continue in force to the like extent and subject to the like provisions as if it had been duly made, given or done by the Lord Chancellor.
(5) Anything commenced before the transfer date by or under the authority of the Secretary of State may, so far as it relates to any function transferred by this Article, be carried on or completed by or under the authority of the Lord Chancellor.
(6) Where, at the transfer date, any legal proceeding is pending to which the Secretary of State is a party and the proceeding relates to any of the functions transferred by this Article, the Lord Chancellor shall be substituted in the proceeding for the Secretary of State, and the proceeding shall not abate by reason of the substitution.
(7) In this Article “the transfer date” means the date on which this Article comes into operation.
Art. 14 rep. by 1998 NI 6
15. In Article 3(4) of the Matrimonial Causes (Northern Ireland) Order 1978F14 (oral testimony not required in certain divorce cases) for “in any” there shall be substituted—
“(a)in any case where the petitioner alleges two years' separation and the respondent consents to a decree being granted; or
(b)in any case where the petitioner alleges five years' separation; or
(c)in any other” .
Article 16—Amendments and Repeals