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The County Court (Amendment No. 4) Rules 1991

S.I. 1991/1882 · Made 17 August 1991

Original text. legislation.gov.uk does not revise statutory instruments, so later amendments are not shown here. Changes made to it are listed under each provision when known.

COUNTY COURTS

PROCEDURE

Made 17th August 1991

Coming into force in accordance with the Table following these Rules

Contents

  1. 1Citation and interpretation
  2. 2References to imperial measurements
  3. 3Matrimonial and family proceedings
  4. 4Closing of court offices
  5. 5Miscellaneous amendments
  6. 6Miscellaneous amendments
  7. 7Miscellaneous amendments
  8. 8Miscellaneous amendments
  9. 9Miscellaneous amendments
  10. 10Miscellaneous amendments
  11. 11Miscellaneous amendments
  12. 12Miscellaneous amendments
  13. 13Change of solicitor
  14. TABLEAppendix TABLE
  15. Signature
  16. Explanatory note

1Citation and interpretation

(1)

These Rules may be cited as the County Court (Amendment No. 4) Rules 1991.

(2)

In these Rules, unless the context otherwise requires, an Order referred to by number means the Order so numbered in the County Court Rules 1981f1 and Appendix A, B or C means Appendix A, B or C to those Rules.

2References to imperial measurements

(1)

In Order 7, rule 4, for “500 yards” there shall be substituted “500 metres”.

(2)

In Item 12(d) of Appendix A and in Note 2 thereto, for “25 miles” there shall be substituted “40 kilometres”.

3Matrimonial and family proceedings

The following are revoked:

(a)

Order 16, rule 12 (Family business and family proceedings — transfer);

(b)

Order 36 (Enforcement of maintenance orders in courts other than county courts);

(c)

in Order 47 (Domestic and matrimonial proceedings), rules 1, 2, 4, and 6 to 11;

(d)

in Order 48 (Family provision)—

(i)

in rule 1, the definition of “the Act of 1973” and, in the definition of “the deceased”, the words from “in the case of an application under section 36” to “the application relates and,”;

(ii)

paragraph (2) of rule 2 (and in consequence paragraph (1) of that rule shall stand as rule 2);

(iii)

in rule 3(1), “(1) or (2)”;

(iv)

in rule 3(2), sub-paragraph (b) and the word “and” immediately preceding it (and in consequence paragraph (2)(a) shall stand as paragraph (2));

(v)

in rules 4(2) and 7, the words “or section 36 of the Act of 1973”;

(vi)

in rule 9(1), the words “section 36 of the Act of 1973 or”.

4Closing of court offices

For Order 2, rule 2(1)(d), there shall be substituted the following—

“(d)

Christmas Eve or—

(i)

if that day is a Saturday, then 23rd December,

(ii)

if that day is a Sunday, then 22nd December,”.

5Miscellaneous amendments

Order 9, rule 6(1) shall be amended by omitting the words “and, unless otherwise directed, producing the plaint note”.

6Miscellaneous amendments

Order 13, rule 12 shall be amended by substituting, for the words “in which the sum claimed or amount involved exceeds £500”, the words “except where those proceedings stand referred for arbitration under Order 19, rule 2(3)”.

7Miscellaneous amendments

At the end of Order 16, rule 6(1A), there shall be inserted (on a new line) the following—

“and, where proceedings are transferred down from the High Court, the pleadings shall, for the purposes of the said rule 11, be deemed to be closed 14 days after the date of transfer.”.

8Miscellaneous amendments

Rule 7 of the County Court (Amendment No. 2) Rules 1991f1 shall be amended by substituting, for the words “(a) any action”, the words “(b) any action”.

9Miscellaneous amendments

For Order 25, rule 5(1), there shall be substituted the following—

“(1)

The requests and applications mentioned in paragraph (2) are—

(a)

a request for a warrant of execution, delivery or possession,

(b)

a request for a judgment summons or warrant of committal,

(c)

an application for a garnishee order under Order 30, rule 1, and

(d)

an application for a charging order.”.

10Miscellaneous amendments

Order 25, rule 5(3) shall be amended by substituting, for the words “to rule 8(5)(b)”, the words “to rule 8(9)”.

11Miscellaneous amendments

For the word “registrar” in Order 37, rule 6(1), (wherever it occurs in that rule and in the title to that rule), there shall be substituted the words “district judge”.

12Miscellaneous amendments

Order 50, rule 9A (Official shorthand note) inserted by rule 12 of the County Court (Amendment No. 3) Rules 1991f1 shall be re-numbered rule 9B.

13Change of solicitor

(1)

In Order 50, rule 5(1) and (3), after the words “to the proper officer” there shall be inserted the words “, to the former solicitor, and”.

(2)

After Order 50, rule 5(1) there shall be added the following new paragraph—

“(1A)

A notice to the proper officer under paragraph (1) or (3) shall contain a certificate by the party or his new solicitor that notice has also been given to the former solicitor and to every other party”.

TABLE

RuleCommencement
Rule 3Immediately before section 40 of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984f1 comes into force.
Rules 2, 4, 11, 131st October 1991.
Remainder16th September 1991.

Signature

We, the undersigned members of the Rule Committee appointed by the Lord Chancellor under section 75 of the County Courts Act 1984f1, having by virtue of the powers vested in us in that behalf made the foregoing Rules, do hereby certify the same under our hands and submit them to the Lord Chancellor accordingly.

C. S. Stuart-White

A. N. Fricker

R. H. Hutchinson

Eifion Roberts

R. Greenslade

K. H. P. Wilkinson

Peter Birts

Tim Stow

R. C. Newport

I allow these Rules, which shall come into force in accordance with the Table below.

Mackay of Clashfern, C.

Dated 17th August 1991

Explanatory note

(This note is not part of the Rules)

These Rules amend the County Court Rules 1981 so as to—

(a)

convert references to imperial units into approximate metric equivalents (rule 2);

(b)

revoke provisions which are now contained in the Family Proceedings Rules 1991 (S.I. 1991/1247) (rule 3) which (together with section 40 of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, which is the provision under which those rules are made) will come into force on 14th October 1991;

(c)

revise the arrangements for the closing of court offices during the Christmas period providing for all offices to be closed on Christmas Eve (rule 4);

(d)

remove the requirement to file the plaint note (rules 5 and 9);

(e)

make it clear (following the increase in the arbitration limit) that interim payments are not available in small claims (rule 6);

(f)

make a number of miscellaneous amendments with respect to the provisions relating to cases transferred down from the High Court (rule 7), appeals (rule 11) and change of solicitor (rule 13) and to correct a wrong cross-reference in Order 25, rule 5(3) (rule 10) and errors in the County Court (Amendment No. 2) Rules 1991 (rule 8) and the County Court (Amendment No. 3) Rules 1991 (rule 12).