Peter Hungerford-Welch, associate dean, The City Law School, City University London. www.city.ac.uk/law
Practice Direction (enforcement of contact orders) (magistrates’ court) [2008] All ER (D) 75 (Nov)
This Practice Direction governs applications to enforce contact orders made in the magistrates’ courts, and is intended to ensure they are considered by family proceedings courts. Paragraphs 5 and 6 list a number of applications (enforcement orders, orders for compensation for financial loss, attachment of a warning notice to contact orders, revocation or amendment of enforcement orders, and exercise of powers following breach of enforcement orders) in which the court should exercise its power under s 65(2) of the Magistrates Courts Act 1980 to treat the proceedings as “family proceedings”.
The procedure to be followed thereafter is that set out in the Magistrates’ Courts (Enforcement of Children Act 1989 Contact Orders) Rules 2008 (SI 2008/2858).
