Rule 45.3 Court’s power to vary requirementsI1

England and Wales

(1)

Unless other legislation otherwise provides, the court may—

(a)

extend a time limit for serving an application or representations under rules 45.4 to 45.10, even after it has expired; and

(b)

consider an application or representations—

(i)

made in a different form to one issued under the Practice Direction, or

(ii)

made orally instead of in writing.

(2)

A person who wants an extension of time must—

(a)

apply when serving the application or representations for which it is needed; and

(b)

explain the delay.

[Note. The time limit for applying for a costs order may be affected by the legislation under which the order is made. See, for example, sections 19(1), (2) and 19A of the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985^f1, regulation 3 of the Costs in Criminal Cases (General) Regulations 1986^f2 and rules 45.8(4)(a) and 45.9(4)(a).]

Annotations

Commencement

I1: Rule 45.3 in force at 6.10.2025, see Preamble

Footnotes

f1: 1985 c. 23; section 19 was amended by section 166 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33), section 45 of, and Schedule 6 to, the Legal Aid Act 1988 (c. 34), section 7 of, and paragraph 8 of Schedule 3 to, the Criminal Procedure (Insanity and Unfitness to Plead) Act 1991 (c. 25), section 24 of, and paragraphs 27 and 28 of Schedule 4 to, the Access to Justice Act 1999 (c. 22), sections 40 and 67 of, and paragraph 4 of Schedule 7 to, the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 (c. 23), section 165 of, and paragraph 99 of Schedule 9 to, the Powers of Criminal Courts (Sentencing) Act 2000 (c. 6), section 378 of, and paragraph 107 of Schedule 16 to, the Armed Forces Act 2006 (c. 52), section 6 of, and paragraph 32 of Schedule 4 and paragraphs 1 and 5 of Schedule 27 to, the Criminal Justice and Immigration Act 2008 (c. 4) and paragraphs 22 and 23 of Schedule 5, and paragraphs 1 and 5 and Part 4 of Schedule 7, to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (c. 10). Section 19A was inserted by section 111 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (c. 41).
f2: S.I. 1986/1335; regulation 3 was amended by regulations 2 and 3 of S.I. 2008/2448.