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04 February 2022 / Stephen Gold
Issue: 7965 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Civil way
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Civil way: 4 February 2022

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Divorce rules out; Service charge enforcement; E-bundle breakdowns; 167 out of 1793 may do

DIVORCE COUNTDOWN

I cannot see any sign of slippage (though I should warn that I am way behind with my annual eye test) and so let us take it that it is still on for 6 April 2022. Not the filing of my tax return but full implementation of the Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020. I promise to take you gently and incrementally towards the monumental reforms.

The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 (Consequential Amendments) Regulations 2020 have been published in draft and will update the lingo of primary and subordinate legislation. Remember, applicant for petitioner; conditional divorce for decree nisi; final order for decree absolute; separation order in divorce for decree of judicial separation and decree of nullity will become nullity of marriage order. In short, alignment where appropriate with corresponding handles already in use in civil partnership dissolutions.

The eagerly awaited Family Procedure (Amendment) Rules 2020 (SI

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

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Sponsored by
Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
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NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
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