# The Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Rule 21.3: Stage of proceedings at which a litigation friend becomes necessary


(1) This rule does not apply where the court has made an order under rule 21.2(3).
(2) A person may not, without the the court’s permission —
(a) make an application against a child or protected party before proceedings have started; or
(b) take any step in proceedings except—
(i) issuing and serving a claim form; or
(ii) applying for the appointment of a litigation friend under rule 21.6,
until the child or protected party has a litigation friend.
(3) If during proceedings a party lacks capacity to continue to conduct proceedings, no party may take any further step in the proceedings without the the court’s permission until the protected party has a litigation friend.
(4) Any step taken before a child or protected party has a litigation friend has no effect unless the court orders otherwise.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1998/3132/rule/21.3 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/civil-procedure-rules-1998/rule-21.3
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.