- Latest available (Revised)
- Original (As enacted)
Family Law Act 1986
You are here:
What Version
Advanced Features
- Show Geographical Extent(e.g. England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland)
- Show Timeline of Changes
Opening Options
More Resources
Changes to legislation:
Family Law Act 1986, Section 38 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 25 April 2024. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations.
Changes to Legislation
Revised legislation carried on this site may not be fully up to date. Changes and effects are recorded by our editorial team in lists which can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area. Where those effects have yet to be applied to the text of the legislation by the editorial team they are also listed alongside the legislation in the affected provisions. Use the ‘more’ link to open the changes and effects relevant to the provision you are viewing.
Changes and effects yet to be applied to the whole Act associated Parts and Chapters:
Whole provisions yet to be inserted into this Act (including any effects on those provisions):
- s. 1(1)(ca)-(cc) inserted by 2022 c. 18 (N.I.) Sch. 3 para. 7
- s. 2A(1)(1A) substituted for s. 2(1) by 1996 c. 27 Sch. 8 para. 37(3) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. Sch. 8 Pt. I repealed (except for paras. 4, 16(1)(5)(a)(6)(b)(7)) (13.5.2014) by Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6), ss. 18(2)(e), 139(4))
- s. 19(1A)-(1C) inserted by 2022 c. 18 (N.I.) Sch. 3 para. 8
- s. 29A inserted by 2020 asp 16 s. 29(2)
- s. 38(4) inserted by 1996 c. 27 Sch. 8 para. 37(9) (This amendment not applied to legislation.gov.uk. Sch. 8 Pt. I repealed (except for paras. 4, 16(1)(5)(a)(6)(b)(7)) (13.5.2014) by Children and Families Act 2014 (c. 6), ss. 18(2)(e), 139(4))
38 Automatic restriction on removal of wards of court.E+W+N.I.
(1)The rule of law which (without any order of the court) restricts the removal of a ward of court from the jurisdiction of the court shall, in a case to which this section applies, have effect subject to the modifications in subsection (3) below.
(2)This section applies in relation to a ward of court if—
(a)proceedings for divorce, nullity or judicial separation in respect of the marriage of his parents are continuing in a court in another part of the United Kingdom (that is to say, in a part of the United Kingdom outside the jurisdiction of the court of which he is a ward), or
[F1(aa)proceedings for dissolution or annulment or legal separation in respect of the civil partnership of his parents are continuing in a court in another part of the United Kingdom (that is to say, in a part of the United Kingdom outside the jurisdiction of the court of which he is a ward), or]
(b)he is habitually resident in another part of the United Kingdom,
except where that other part is Scotland and he has attained the age of sixteen.
(3)Where this section applies, the rule referred to in subsection (1) above shall not prevent—
(a)the removal of the ward of court, without the consent of any court, to the other part of the United Kingdom mentioned in subsection (2) above, or
(b)his removal to any other place with the consent of either the appropriate court in that other part of the United Kingdom or the court mentioned in subsection [F2(2)(a) or (aa) above] .
Textual Amendments
F1S. 38(2)(aa) inserted (5.12.2005) by The Civil Partnership (Family Proceedings and Housing Consequential Amendments) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3336), arts. 1, 18(1) (with art. 2(4))
F2Words in s. 38(3)(b) substituted (5.12.2005) by The Civil Partnership (Family Proceedings and Housing Consequential Amendments) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3336), arts. 1, 18(2) (with art. 2(4))
Options/Help
Print Options
PrintThe Whole Act
PrintThe Whole Part
PrintThe Whole Chapter
PrintThis Section only
Legislation is available in different versions:
Latest Available (revised):The latest available updated version of the legislation incorporating changes made by subsequent legislation and applied by our editorial team. Changes we have not yet applied to the text, can be found in the ‘Changes to Legislation’ area.
Original (As Enacted or Made): The original version of the legislation as it stood when it was enacted or made. No changes have been applied to the text.
See additional information alongside the content
Geographical Extent: Indicates the geographical area that this provision applies to. For further information see ‘Frequently Asked Questions’.
Show Timeline of Changes: See how this legislation has or could change over time. Turning this feature on will show extra navigation options to go to these specific points in time. Return to the latest available version by using the controls above in the What Version box.
Opening Options
Different options to open legislation in order to view more content on screen at once
More Resources
Access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item from this tab. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- correction slips
- links to related legislation and further information resources
Timeline of Changes
This timeline shows the different points in time where a change occurred. The dates will coincide with the earliest date on which the change (e.g an insertion, a repeal or a substitution) that was applied came into force. The first date in the timeline will usually be the earliest date when the provision came into force. In some cases the first date is 01/02/1991 (or for Northern Ireland legislation 01/01/2006). This date is our basedate. No versions before this date are available. For further information see the Editorial Practice Guide and Glossary under Help.
More Resources
Use this menu to access essential accompanying documents and information for this legislation item. Dependent on the legislation item being viewed this may include:
- the original print PDF of the as enacted version that was used for the print copy
- correction slips
Click 'View More' or select 'More Resources' tab for additional information including:
- lists of changes made by and/or affecting this legislation item
- confers power and blanket amendment details
- all formats of all associated documents
- links to related legislation and further information resources
All content is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0 except where otherwise stated. This site additionally contains content derived from EUR-Lex, reused under the terms of the Commission Decision 2011/833/EU on the reuse of documents from the EU institutions. For more information see the EUR-Lex public statement on re-use.