Guidance
Family Procedure Rules 2010 Practice Directions - December 2020 update
Changes to Practice Directions 5B, 36G, 36H, 36J, 36K, 36M, 36N, 36O, 36P, 41A, and 41B come into force in December 2020 and January 2021, and new Practice Direction 41C comes into force in February 2021.
Applies to England and Wales
Documents
Details
The following amendments or replacements have been made.
| Practice Direction | Details |
|---|---|
| European Union Exit Practice Direction Update | Amendment to ensure that the transitional provisions in relation to the EU Protection Measures Regulation align with the Withdrawal Agreement |
| 36G | Amendment of the current expiry date from 31 January 2021 to 30 September 2021. The PD makes provision for a pilot scheme which enables applications for child arrangement orders (under section 8 Children Act 1989) to be generated online |
| 36H | Amendment of the current expiry date from 31 December 2020 to 31 June 2021 to extend the current interim provision in place for communicating Forced Marriage and Female Genital Mutilation Protection Orders (FMPOs and FGMPOs) to relevant police forces and regional policing leads |
| 36J | Amendment of the current expiry date from 31 December 2020 to 31 December 2021 to extend the pilot arrangements allowing ‘legal bloggers’ to attend family proceedings heard in private |
| 36K | Amendment of the current expiry date from 31 January 2021 to 30 September 2021. The Practice Direction makes provision for a pilot scheme for the bulk scanning of section 8 Children Act 1989 applications for child arrangements orders |
| 36M and 36P | Amendment of the current expiry date from 31 April 2021 to 1 August 2021. These Practice Directions enable pilot schemes testing the online submission within certain public law proceedings, emergency proceedings relating to children, and placement proceedings – as part of HMCTS’s Family Public Law Reform Project |
| 5B, 36G, 36M, 36N, 36O, 36P, 41A and 41B | Amendments to clarify the position regarding the timing of receipt of applications or other documents submitted by email, via online schemes or via bulk scanning |
| 41B | Amendment to remove the reference to Maintenance Pending Suit applications from the online system for consent financial remedy applications |
These changes take effect from 18 December 2020.
| Practice Direction | Details |
|---|---|
| 36N | Amendment to add provision for legal representatives of respondent to use the online system for contested financial remedy applications and remove references to Maintenance Pending Suit applications |
The amendments to paragraph 1.4 and 11.1 come into force on 18 December 2020 and the remainder of amendments come into force on 11 January 2021.
| Practice Direction | Details |
|---|---|
| 41C | The introduction of new Practice Direction 41C provides for a procedure by which, in specified circumstances, appeal proceedings in Family Division of the High Court may proceed by electronic means using an online case management system |
This new Practice Direction comes into force on 1 February 2021.