The President of the Family Division handed down a Practice Direction on the need to avoiding delay and waste of costs in family proceedings. The courts would be free to take greater control of cases. A party who fails to conduct a matter economically could be subject to a wasted costs order. The court would exercise more readily the powers to limit pleadings, discovery, the length of submissions and cross examinations and otherwise. Unless directed a party’s written statement should stand instead of oral evidence, and oral evidence should be restricted to material matters of fact, save for experts. Parties had a duty to the court to give full and frank disclosure in ancillary relief and children matters. The court set down standards for bundles to be used save in the simplest cases, including their supply to the court. Cases expected to last five days or more should have pre-trial reviews at which the intended advocates and judge should attend. Parties should supply to the court a list of the central documents in cases where there was no core bundle. The direction applied in the Family Division and was intended to mirror similar directions in other divisions.
Judges:
Sir Stephen Brown P
Citations:
Times 08-Feb-1995
Family, Legal Professions
Updated: 09 April 2022; Ref: scu.84885