Procedure & practice

Juliet Harvey, national chair of family law organisation Resolution, gave an address at the Family Practice Conference in Nottingham on 7 October 2022 in which she highlighted the 'desperate state' of the family courts, which she described as 'underfunded and understaffed' with increasing delays and backlogs and statistics that show that the average period from the date of a divorce/dissolution petition/application to decree absolute/final order is now 56 weeks, up seven weeks from the same time last year. 

The HM Courts and Tribunals Service (HMCTS) contested financial remedy service team has issued guidance regarding online cases where a solicitor seeks to make multiple general applications in a contested financial remedy case. 

Elaborate lies on a CV are never a good idea, especially when the Supreme Court gets involved: David Walbank KC reports on some tall tales & costly consequences

The Sentencing Council has launched a consultation on proposed changes to its ‘Totality guideline’, which sets out the approach for sentencing an offender for more than one offence or where the offender is already serving a sentence. 

An order for disclosure of documents can be made against a third party outside the jurisdiction, the Court of Appeal has held.

Lord Reed, president of the Supreme Court, has this week issued a practice note on the implications of the death of HM Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of HM King Charles III. 

Beware of glass cubes, or at least those who intend to build them, warns former District Judge Stephen Gold, in this week’s 'Civil way'.

Masood Ahmed examines the court’s approach to a party’s non-attendance at trial, & the high bar for applications to set aside the resulting judgment

Portal grab for defendants; Covid rent arbitration flop; Beware of glass cubes; MIAM rule book.

HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS) has discussed how it prepared Croydon Crown Court in July 2022 to support the first deaf juror, Karen, to serve in a trial aided by British Sign Language (BSL) interpreters.