PART 17: APPEALS FROM TRIBUNALS TO FAMILY DIVISION AND CASE STATED

149. Appeals from tribunals and applications for a case to be stated or by way of case stated to the Family Division under Part 20 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024

149. Appeals from tribunals and applications for a case to be stated or by way of case stated to the Family Division under Part 20 of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024

(1) Part 20, Rule 3(4) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 states that the supporting affidavit must include the record of proceedings if that is available and is necessary for the appeal or the application. If the record of proceedings is necessary for the appeal or the application, and is not available at the time when the supporting affidavit is filed but subsequently becomes available, the appellant or applicant should seek permission from the Court to file a further affidavit to include the record of proceedings when it becomes available. To facilitate this, the appellant or applicant should promptly apply for any written grounds of decision, the record of evidence or notes of arguments taken in respect of the proceedings before the tribunal.

(2) Unless otherwise ordered by the Court, each party is to tender 1 hard copy each of his or her affidavits, written submissions and bundles of authorities (if any) to the Despatch Office at Level 1, Supreme Court Building within the timeline prescribed in Part 20, Rule 4(1) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024.

(3) The formatting requirements for written submissions filed under Part 20, Rule 4(1) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 are as follows:

(a) the minimum font size to be used is Times New Roman 12 or its equivalent;

(b) the print of every page must be double-spaced; and

(c) every page must have a margin on all 4 sides, each of at least 35 mm in width.

(4) The written submissions filed under Part 20, Rule 4(1) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024 should not exceed 35 pages (including the cover page and table of contents). The written submissions must include a cover page and a table of contents. Parties are to note that where the Court allows the prescribed page limit to be exceeded, fees are payable under the Third Schedule to the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024.

(5) The party using the hard copy of the bundle of authorities for the hearing must, if directed by the Court, file the list of authorities (that corresponds to the table of contents of the hard copy of the bundle of authorities) into the case file using the Electronic Filing Service within the timeline prescribed in Part 20, Rule 4(1) of the Family Justice (General) Rules 2024. The bundle of authorities (whether in hard copy or soft copy) must comply with the requirements under paragraphs 124(5) to (11) of these Practice Directions. In particular, where the bundle of authorities consists of more than 1 volume:

(a) the table of contents of all volumes of the bundle of authorities must be placed at the beginning of Volume A; and

(b) each volume must have a table of contents indicating the authorities that are contained in that volume.