PRACTICE DIRECTION AMENDMENTS
The new Practice Directions and the amendments to the existing Practice Directions
supplementing the Family Procedure Rules 2010 are made by the President of the
Family Division under the powers delegated to him by the Lord Chief Justice under
Schedule 2, Part 1, paragraph 2(2) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, and are
approved by Caroline Dinenage, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Women,
Equalities and Family Justice, by the authority of the Lord Chancellor.
The amendments to existing Practice Directions 6A, 12G and 14E and the new Practice
Directions 5B and 9B come into force on 7 December 2015.
The amendments to existing Practice Directions 3A and 12B come into force on 1
January 2016.
Signed:
___________________________
Sir James Munby
The President of the Family Division
Signed:
____________________________
Caroline Dinenage
Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Ministry of Justice
TRANSITIONAL AND SAVING PROVISION
(1) Subject to paragraph (2), the amendments and new Practice Directions below apply
to any proceedings which were commenced but not disposed of before these
amendments came into force.
(2) The court may in any such proceedings give directions for the purpose of ensuring
that the proceedings are dealt with fairly and, in particular, may–
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(a) apply any provision in Practice Directions which applied to the proceedings
before these amendments came into force; or
(b) disapply provisions of the amendments and new Practice Directions below.
PRACTICE
DIRECTION
3A
–
FAMILY
MEDIATION
INFORMATION
AND
ASSESSMENT MEETINGS (MIAMS)
(1) In paragraph 22, for the second sentence substitute “Under that rule, an authorised
family mediator is a person identified by the Family Mediation Council as qualified to
conduct a MIAM.”.
PRACTICE DIRECTION 5B – COMMUNICATION AND FILING OF DOCUMENTS BY
E-MAIL
(1) After Practice Direction 5A, insert the new Practice Direction 5B, as set out in Annex
1.
PRACTICE DIRECTION 6A – SERVICE WITHIN THE JURISDICTION
(1)
In the heading above paragraph 4.1, for “other electronic means” substitute “e-
mail”.
(2)
In paragraph 4.1—
(a)
for “This paragraph applies” substitute “Paragraphs 4.2 to 4.6 apply”; and
(b)
after “service”, insert “by the court or by a party”.
(3)
For paragraph 4.2 substitute—
“4.2
Subject to the provisions of rule 6.26(6) and (7), where a document is to be
served by fax or e-mail—
(a)
the party who is to be served or the solicitor acting for that party must
previously have indicated in writing to the court or party serving,
whichever is applicable—
(i)
that the party to be served or the solicitor is willing to accept
service by fax or e-mail; and
(ii)
(b)
the fax number or e-mail address to which it must be sent; and
the following are to be taken as sufficient written indications for the
purposes of paragraph 4.2(a)—
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(i)
a fax number set out on the letterhead or website of the solicitor
acting for the party to be served;
(ii)
an e-mail address set out on the letterhead or website of the
solicitor acting for the party to be served but only where it is
stated that the e-mail address may be used for service;
(iii)
a fax number or e-mail address set out on a statement of case or
an answer to a claim filed with the court by the party to be
served; or
(iv)
an e-mail or other correspondence from the party to be served, to
the court or party serving, confirming that they are willing to
accept service by e-mail.”.
(4)
For paragraph 4.3 substitute—
“4.3
Where a party intends to—
(a) serve a document by e-mail; or
(b) request that the court serve a document by e-mail
that party must first ask the party who is to be served whether there are any
limitations to the recipient’s agreement to accept service by such means (for
example, the format in which documents are to be sent and the maximum
size of attachments that may be received).”.
(5)
In paragraph 4.4, for “electronic means” substitute “e-mail”.
(6)
After paragraph 4.4, insert—
“4.5
Where a party requests the court to serve a document by e-mail and has
received notification of limitations to the recipient’s agreement to accept service
pursuant to paragraph 4.3, that party must communicate those limitations to the court
when requesting the court to serve.
4.6
Where limitations have been communicated by a party pursuant to paragraph
4.3, service on that party must comply with those limitations.”.
(7)
In paragraph 10.1, after “photographic”, insert “or scanned”.
NEW PRACTICE DIRECTION 9B – COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION FROM
FINANCIAL REMEDY PROCEEDINGS
(1) After Practice Direction 9A, insert new Practice Direction 9B, as set out in Annex 2.
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PRACTICE DIRECTION 12B – CHILD ARRANGEMENTS PROGRAMME
(1)
In paragraph 5.5, for the second sentence substitute “An authorised family
mediator is a person identified by the Family Mediation Council as qualified to conduct a
MIAM.”.
(2)
In paragraph 5.7, for “how to find a family mediator” substitute “how to find an
authorised family mediator”.
PRACTICE DIRECTION 12G – COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION
(1)
In the table in paragraph 2.1, after the third row (which relates to disclosure of
information to the Secretary of State and others in relation to an appeal made under
section 20 of the Child Support Act 1991), insert“
A party or other
person lawfully in
receipt
of
information
The
Secretary
of
State, a McKenzie
Friend, a lay adviser
or the Upper Tier
Tribunal dealing with
an
appeal
under
section 24 of the Child
Support Act 1991 in
respect of a decision
of
the
First-tier
Tribunal that was
made under section
20 of that Act
For a purpose
connected with an
appeal
under
section 24 of the
Child Support Act
1991 in respect of
a decision of the
First-tier Tribunal
that was made
under section 20 of
that Act
“.
PRACTICE DIRECTION 14E – COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION RELATING TO
PROCEEDINGS
(1)
In the table in paragraph 1.3, after the fourth row (which relates to disclosure of
information to the Secretary of State and others in relation to an appeal made under
section 20 of the Child Support Act 1991), insert“
A party or other
person lawfully in
receipt
of
information
The
Secretary
of
State, a McKenzie
Friend, a lay adviser
or the Upper Tier
Tribunal dealing with
an
appeal
under
section 24 of the Child
Support Act 1991 in
respect of a decision
of
the
First-tier
Tribunal that was
made under section
20 of that Act
For a purpose
connected with an
appeal
under
section 24 of the
Child Support Act
1991 in respect of
a decision of the
First-tier Tribunal
that was made
under section 20 of
that Act
“.
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Annex 1
PRACTICE DIRECTION 5B – COMMUNICATION AND FILING OF DOCUMENTS BY
E-MAIL
This Practice Direction supplements FPR Part 5, rule 5.5
Chapter 1: Scope and interpretation
1.1
This practice direction provides for communication and filing of documents with
the court by e-mail.
1.2
Chapter 2 applies to specified organisations.
1.3
Chapter 3 applies to persons other than specified organisations.
1.4
Chapters 4, 5 and 6 apply to all persons, including specified organisations.
1.5
In this practice direction—
(a)
‘specified document’ is a document that is—
(i)
related to any family proceedings other than adoption proceedings; and
(ii)
listed in the e-mail guidance on Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals
Service website as a document that may be sent by e-mail to a specified e-mail
address;
(The e-mail guidance can be found at:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/email-guidance#canfile )
(b)
‘specified e-mail address’ is the e-mail address for a court office which has been
listed on the Courts and Tribunals Finder website at:
https://courttribunalfinder.service.gov.uk/courts/
(c)
‘specified organisation’ is any of—
(i)
a local authority;
(ii)
Cafcass;
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(iii)
(d)
CAFCASS Cymru; and
‘urgent application’ means an application in which—
(i)
there is risk to the life, liberty or physical safety of a person who is the
subject of the application or his or her family or his or her home;
(ii)
any delay in issuing the application could cause—
(aa) a risk of harm to a child;
(bb) a risk of unlawful removal of a child from the United Kingdom, or a
risk of unlawful retention of a child who is currently outside England and
Wales;
(cc) a significant risk of a miscarriage of justice;
(dd) unreasonable hardship to the applicant; or
(ee) irretrievable problems in dealing with the dispute (including the
irretrievable loss of significant evidence).
1.6
References in this practice direction to e-mailing a court mean e-mailing a court
office at its specified e-mail address.
Chapter 2: Specified organisations
2.1
Subject to this Chapter, a specified organisation may e-mail a court at the
court’s specified e-mail address and may attach or include one or more specified
documents to or in that e-mail.
2.2
If a fee is payable in order for a document to be filed with or accepted by the
court, then subject to paragraph 2.3, the specified organisation must, when e-mailing
the court—
(a)
provide a Fee Account number, credit card number or debit card number
which the person e-mailing the court has the authority to charge; and
(b)
authorise the court to charge the applicable fee to that Account or card
number.
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2.3
When a specified organisation is e-mailing an urgent application to the court, the
specified organisation may undertake to take the steps specified at paragraph 2.2(a)
and (b) on the next business day.
(A list of applicable fees can be found here:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/fees)
(Further information about using the Fee Account service can be found at:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/fees/payment-by-account )
2.4
A court officer must refuse any application or other document, including any
attachment, sent to the court by e-mail if—
(a)
it does not comply with this Chapter; or
(b)
a fee is payable and—
(i)
the court has not been able to charge the fee to the Account or
card number provided by the sender; or
(ii)
in the case of an urgent application, the sender has not provided
the undertaking specified in paragraph 2.3.
Chapter 3:
3.1
Persons other than specified organisations
Subject to paragraphs 3.2 - 3.4, a person other than a specified organisation
may e-mail the court or attach a specified document to an e-mail to the court.
3.2
If a fee is payable in order for an e-mailed document to be filed with or accepted
by the court, the person must, when e-mailing the court—
(a)
provide a Fee Account number, credit card number or debit card number
which the person has authority to charge for the applicable fee; and
(b)
authorise the court to charge the applicable fee to that Account or card
number.
(A list of applicable fees can be found here:
http://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/fees)
3.3
A person may e-mail the court or attach one or more specified documents to an
e-mail to the court provided that—
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(a)
when printed out on both sides of A4 paper, the following documents
together do not exceed 25 sheets of paper in total—
(i)
the e-mail;
(ii)
the attachments, including any document or e-mail embedded in
any attachment; and
(iii)
copies of documents in (i) and (ii) that the court would be
required to serve, if service by the court is requested or required
under the rules;
(b)
if the e-mail, including any attachments, is being sent to take a step in
proceedings, that step is being taken by only that e-mail and
attachments, and no other e-mail or hard copy is being sent as part of
that step; and
(c)
the total size of the e-mail, including any attachments, does not exceed
10.0 megabytes.
3.4
A court officer must refuse any application or other document, including any
attachment, sent to the court by e-mail if—
(a)
it does not comply with this Chapter; or
(b)
a fee is payable and the court has not been able to charge the fee to the
Account or card number provided by the sender.
Chapter 4:
4.1
Technical specifications
An e-mail sent to the court must—
(a)
contain the name of the sender and an address for contact, which can be
an e-mail address; and
(b)
be in plain text or rich text format rather than HTML.
(Rule 29.1 specifies the information that a party is not required to reveal, and makes
provision for notice by a party to the court where a party does not wish for particulars to
be revealed by the court to another person.)
4.2
Subject to this practice direction, correspondence and documents may be sent
as either text in the body of an e-mail, or as one or more attachments.
4.3
Completed forms that are prescribed by a rule or practice direction must be sent
as attachments.
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4.4
Where a prescribed form requires that one or more documents must be
attached to that form, that document or documents must be attached to the e-mail to
which the form is attached.
Court forms may be downloaded from HMCTS website at:
http://hmctsformfinder.justice.gov.uk/HMCTS/FormFinder.do
4.5
Attachments must be sent in a format supported by the software used by the
court to which it is sent.
The format or formats which may be used in sending attachments to a particular
specified court are listed in the e-mail guidance on Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals
website. The e-mail guidance can be found at:
https://www.justice.gov.uk/courts/email-guidance#canfile
4.6
Where an e-mail relates to existing proceedings, the person sending the e-mail
must include the following information in the subject line of the e-mail, to the extent that
space allows—
(a) the case number, if one exists;
(b) the parties' names (abbreviated if necessary);
(c) the name of the judge or other person before whom the case has been listed,
if known by the person sending the e-mail; and
(d) if applicable, the date and time of any hearing to which the e-mail relates.
Chapter 5:
5.1
Further provisions
Where a person sends an e-mail to the court, that person must not send a hard
copy of that e-mail or any attachment to the court.
5.2
Where an application is received by the court by e-mail—
(a)
in accordance with chapter 2 or chapter 3 of this practice direction,
whichever is applicable; and
(b)
the e-mail is recorded by HMCTS e-mail software as received at or after
4:31pm and before or at 11:59pm;
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the date of issue of the application will not be before the next day the court office is
open.
5.3
Where an e-mail, including any attachment, is received by the court—
(a)
in accordance with chapter 2 or chapter 3 of this practice direction,
whichever is applicable; and
(b)
the e-mail is recorded by HMCTS e-mail software as received at or after
4:31pm and before or at 11:59pm, the date of receipt is the next day the court office is
open.
5.4
Where a time limit applies to the receipt or filing of a document or application,
and the document or application is e-mailed to the court, it remains the responsibility of
the person subject to that time limit to ensure that the document or application is sent
within applicable time limits taking into account the operation of the practice direction.
5.5
A court officer may reply by e-mail to an e-mail received at a specified e-mail
address, where the e-mail or any attachment received relates to proceedings which are
not adoption proceedings.
5.6
If a document sent by e-mail requires urgent attention, the sender should
contact the court by telephone.
Chapter 6:
6.1
Statements of truth
Where a person wishes to file a specified document containing a statement of
truth by e-mail, that person should retain the document containing the original signature
and file with the court a version of the document satisfying one of the following
requirements—
(a)
the name of the person who has signed the statement of truth is typed
underneath the statement; or
(b)
the person who has signed the statement of truth has applied a facsimile
of their signature to the statement in the document by mechanical
means.
6.2
The court may require a person to produce the document containing the original
signature.
______________________
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Annex 2
PRACTICE DIRECTION 9B – COMMUNICATION OF INFORMATION FROM
FINANCIAL REMEDY PROCEEDINGS
This Practice Direction supplements FPR rule 9.46
1.1 Subject to any direction of the court, information from financial remedy
proceedings may be communicated for the purposes of the law relating to
contempt of court in accordance with this Practice Direction.
Communication of information by a party etc. for purposes relating to appeals
under the Child Support Act 1991
2.1 A person specified in the first column of the following table may communicate to
a person listed in the second column such information as is specified in the third
column for the purpose specified in the fourth column –
A party
A party or any
other person
lawfully in receipt
of information
The Secretary of
State, a
McKenzie Friend,
a lay adviser or
the First-tier
Tribunal dealing
with an appeal
under section 20
of the Child
Support Act 1991
The Secretary of
State, a
McKenzie Friend,
a lay adviser or
the Upper Tier
Tribunal dealing
with an appeal
under section 24
of the Child
Support Act 1991
in respect of a
decision of the
First-tier Tribunal
that was made
under section 20
of that Act
Any information
relating to
financial remedy
proceedings
For the purposes
of making or
responding to an
appeal under
section 20 of the
Child Support Act
1991 or the
determination of
such an appeal
Any information
relating to
financial remedy
proceedings
For a purpose
connected with an
appeal under
section 24 of the
Child Support Act
1991 in respect of
a decision of the
First-tier Tribunal
that was made
under section 20
of that Act
Onward communication
3.1 A person in the second column of the table at paragraph 2.1 may only
communicate information relating to the proceedings received from a person in
the first column for the purpose for which he or she received that information.
Interpretation
4.1 In this Practice Direction-
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“lay adviser” means a non-professional person who gives lay advice on behalf of
an organisation in the lay advice sector; and
“McKenzie Friend” means any person permitted by the court or tribunal to sit
beside an unrepresented litigant in court or in a tribunal to assist that litigant by
prompting, taking notes and giving advice to that litigant.
_____________________
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