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

PART 1 Introductory provisions

Citation, commencement and interpretation

1.  These Rules may be cited as the Family Court (Composition and Distribution of Business) Rules 2014 and come into force on 22nd April 2014.

2.—(1) In these Rules—

“the 1991 Act” means the Child Support Act 1991(1);

“appeal” includes an application seeking permission to appeal and an application in the course of the appeal proceedings;

“assistant to a justices’ clerk” has the meaning given in section 27(5) of the Courts Act 2003(2);

“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(3) as applied to family proceedings by rule 28.2(1) of the Family Procedure Rules 2010(4);

“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(5) or section 8 of the County Courts Act 1984(6) 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(7);

(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(8);

“justices’ clerk” has the meaning given in section 27(1) of the Courts Act 2003(9); and

“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(10) include, as applicable, references to those provisions as modified by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (Parental Orders) Regulations 2010(11).

(1)

1991 c.48.

(2)

2003 c.39.

(3)

S.I. 1998/3132. Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2013/262.

(4)

S.I. 2010/2955. Relevant amending instrument is S.I. 2013/3204.

(5)

1981 c.54. Section 102 was amended by paragraph 40 of Schedule 18 to, and Schedule 20 to, the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c.41), paragraph 15(3) of Schedule 8 to the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993 (c.8), paragraph 3 of Schedule 11 to the Tribunals Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 (c.15) and paragraph 36 of Schedule 13 to the Crime and Courts Act 2013.

(6)

1984 c.28. Section 8 was amended by paragraph 42 of Schedule 18 to the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, paragraph 17(1) of Schedule 6, and Schedule 9, to the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993, paragraph 7 of Schedule 11 to the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 and paragraph 6 of Schedule 9, and paragraph 37 of Schedule 13, to the Crime and Courts Act 2013.

(7)

Section 9 was amended by section 58 of the Administration of Justice Act 1982 (c.53), paragraph 5 of Schedule 6 to, and Schedule 9 to, the Judicial Pensions and Retirement Act 1993, section 52 of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (c.33), paragraph 260 of Schedule 8 to the Courts Act 2003, paragraph 121 of Schedule 4, paragraph 36 of Schedule 9 and paragraph 22 of Schedule 17 to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, and paragraphs 52 and 89 of Schedule 13 and paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 14 to the Crime and Courts Act 2013.

(8)

Section 31C was inserted by paragraph 1 of Schedule 10 to the Crime and Courts Act 2013.

(9)

Section 27(1) was amended by paragraph 326 of Schedule 4 to the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

(10)

2002 c.38.

(11)

S.I. 2010/985.