The President of the Family Division Sir Stephen Cobb has published new guidance for short notice applications in public law family proceedings.
The four-page document is designed to provide coherent information for all stakeholders in the Family Court allocation and listing process.
Under the guidance, non-urgent cases will be given a listing between days 12-18. Emergency or short notice listings must clearly set out in the application form details of why the case meets the necessary criteria, and the listing proposed.
Applications for an emergency or short notice listing will be dealt with by the gatekeeping team, but any decision to agree or refuse one must be made by a judge.
If the judge does not agree to a short notice or emergency listing, the standing listing time of 12-18 days will apply.
The guidance includes information about applications for same-day hearings, which it says must be “truly exceptional”, and timings for applying for out of hours hearings.
The guidance was developed in response to concerns about the increasing use of urgent applications. It has been produced by a cross-disciplinary working group representing organisations and professions from across the family justice system, including the judiciary, HMCTS, Cafcass, Cafcass Cymru, the Department for Education, local authority lawyers, the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, social workers and academics.
Sir Cobb will launch the materials at a webinar on 4th November.
