{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/family-law-act-1996-part-ivallocation-of-proceedings-order-1997/article-4",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/family-law-act-1996-part-ivallocation-of-proceedings-order-1997/article-4.json",
  "legislation": "uksi/1997/1896",
  "legislation_title": "The Family Law Act 1996 (Part IV)(Allocation of Proceedings) Order 1997",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/family-law-act-1996-part-ivallocation-of-proceedings-order-1997",
  "path": "article/4",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "4",
  "heading": "Commencement of proceedings",
  "text": "(1) Subject to section 59, paragraph 1 of Schedule 7 and the provisions of this article, proceedings under Part IV may be commenced in a county court or in a family proceedings court.\n(2) An application—\n(a) under Part IV brought by an applicant who is under the age of eighteen; and\n(b) for the grant of leave under section 43 (Leave of court required for applications by children under sixteen),\nshall be commenced in the High Court.\n(3) Where family proceedings are pending in a county court or a family proceedings court, an application under Part IV may be made in those proceedings.",
  "extent": null,
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1997/1896/article/4",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T11:59:13.963370+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}