Family Proceedings in United Kingdom

This area of law covers jurisdiction in child proceedings, enforcement, public law for the private law practitioner, court bundles, expert witnesses in family proceedings, appeals and vulnerable witnesses in family proceedings. For additional information, see the content on Blood Tets, DNA Tests, and the European Regulations on this field.

Definition of Family Proceedings

In accordance with the work A Dictionary of Law, this is a description of Family Proceedings : All court proceedings under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court that deal with matters relating to the *welfare of children. Before 1989 the court’s powers to make orders concerning children varied, depending on the level of the court and the proceedings involved. The Children Act 1989, together with the Family Proceedings Rules 1991, rationalized the court’s powers and created a unified structure of the High Court, county courts, and magistrates’ courts. The ambit of family proceedings is very wide, including proceedings for *divorce, domestic violence (See battered spouse or cohabitant), children in care (See care order), *adoption, and *wardship and applications for a parental order under section 30 of the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act 1990 (See section 30 order).

Contents

This topic includes:

• The Divorce Petition.
• Requirements on Issue of Petition.
• Procedure: from Issue of Petition to Application for Decree Nisi
• Subsequent Pleadings
• Judicial Involvement Leading to Decree Nisi
• Decree Absolute
• Matrimonial Decrees
• Declaratory Decrees
• Civil Partnership
• Financial Applications
• Applications for a Financial Order with Proceedings under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004
• Financial Applications Governed by the Civil Procedure Rules 1998
• Procedures for the Enforcement of Financial and Costs Orders
• Reciprocal Enforcement of Maintenance Orders
• Jurisdiction in Child Proceedings
• Enforcement of Children Act Orders
• Locating the Whereabouts of a Child
• Wardship
• Child Abduction
• Domestic Violence
• Emergency Applications
• Penal Notices
• Undertakings
• Committal Applications
• Court Bundles
• Expert Witnesses in Family Proceedings
• Appeals
• The Court Record