Court Orders And Court Hearings Explained
WHAT IS COURT ORDER?
A court order is a piece of paper/document issued by the court that details/records all the decisions, judgements, rulings made and directions given by a judge, magistrate or court before, during and after court proceedings.
IS A COURT ORDER LEGALLY ENFORCEABLE?
Yes it is. All parties who are part of the court proceedings that have resulted in the making of a court order are legally bound to comply with the court order.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF A COURT ORDER?
A court order can be comprised of the following elements:
- The name of the court where the court order was issued will be written at the top of the first page.
- The court stamp (also called a court seal) will be on the top right hand corner of the first page.
- The type of court order it is will be written on the first page (i.e. final, interim)
- The court order may contain a mandatory warning or penal notice stating what could happen to an individual if the court order is not adhered to.
- The title and full names of the individuals involved in the court proceedings will also be on the first page.
- If the court order relates to a court hearing then the date of this hearing will be noted.
- If the court order relates to a court hearing where either party was represented by a barrister or solicitor, their name will be written on the court order.
- If the court order relates to a court hearing where either party had a McKenzie friend helping them, their name will be noted on the court order.
- If the court order relates to a hearing heard by a magistrate, then the names of any legal advisers present will be noted on the court order.
- The court order will detail in full any decisions, judgements, rulings made or directions given.
- The signature and/or name of the judge(s)/magistrate(s) who have made the decisions, judgements, rulings or given the directions will be at the end of the court order.
- The date when the court order was written is usually at the end of the court order.
ARE COURT ORDERS CHECKED BY THE JUDGE OR MAGISTRATE ONCE WRITTEN BY THE COURT ADMINISTRATION DEPARTMENT?
All court orders are checked by the judge or magistrate first before they are sent to individuals involved in the proceedings.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COURT ORDERS?
The following different types of court orders can be issued with regards to family proceedings:
Final court order – This court order details the decisions, judgements, rulings made and directions given on the completion of family court proceedings.
Interim court order – An interim court order is a court order issued during court proceedings often detailing any temporary decisions.
Directions court order – This court order will give details of things the individuals need to do to progress the case along.
Informative court order – This court order is sent to notify the date and time of a court hearing or any other information that the court feels an individual should be notified about.
WHAT IS A COURT SEAL?
A court seal is another name for the stamp of a court which once placed on a document turns it into a legally binding court order.
WHAT IS A SEALED ORDER?
A sealed order is a court order that has a court stamp on it. This court stamp makes the order official and legally binding.
WHAT IS A CONSENT ORDER?
Please click on the link below where a consent order will be explained in detail.
CAN A JUDGE ASK A BARRISTER TO PREPARE A COURT ORDER?
Yes they can and do. If one or both party’s to the proceedings is represented by a barrister then the judge can ask them to prepare the court order and send it to the court to be checked and stamped before being sent out.
WHAT CAN YOU DO IF YOU FIND THERE IS A MISTAKE ON THE COURT ORDER?
There can be many reasons why there may be a mistake on a court order. The court administration department could write the wrong type of hearing by mistake (a directions hearing could be written as final hearing) or a direction or decision that was made could be missed out.
If this happens to you then you can apply to the court to have the court order amended under something called the ‘slip rule’. This is the rule that is used where a judge can correct a court order or judgement because a mistake, omission, typing error or accidental slip has occurred. If one party to the proceedings has noticed a mistake in a court order they can make an application for correction without notice. Under this rule notice does not need to be given to the other side nor is there a requirement for a hearing so the correction can be made. The form used to make this application during financial proceedings is form D11. The form used during child proceedings is form C2.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D11
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C2
WHEN DOES A COURT ORDER BECOME EFFECTIVE?
A court order is effective from the moment a judge or magistrate makes the decision, judgement, ruling or gives a direction.
If it is to be effective from a later date then this will be mentioned in the court order.
WHEN WILL YOU BE GIVEN A COURT ORDER?
There is no set procedure or time for when you will receive a court order.
- You can be given in straight after the court hearing because a legal adviser and administration department have prepared immediately.
- It may be posted or emailed to you after the court hearing and can take anything up to 14 days to get it to you.
WHAT IS A COURT HEARING?
A court hearing is when a case is presented in front of a judge where both parties and anyone else connected with the case are present so that decisions, judgements, rulings can be made or directions can be given.
A court hearing takes place at a particular date and time.
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF COURT HEARINGS?
The different types of court hearings are:
Face to face hearing – This is a hearing which generally takes place in a court building where a judge(s) and all parties involved in the proceedings are in attendance.
Paper hearing – A paper hearing is one where the judge(s) will review written paperwork, statements and evidence in private without any party involved in the proceedings having to attend a face to face court hearing.
Video hearing – A video hearing is one where the judge and all parties involved in the proceedings will conduct the hearing via video link. This is also referred to as a remote hearing.
Telephone hearing – A telephone hearing is one which is conducted over the phone. This is also referred to as a remote hearing.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO ADJOURN A COURT HEARING?
When a court hearing is adjourned it is postponed until a later date. An adjournment can happen for many reasons. A few are:
- The court can adjourn a hearing because a judge is not available.
- A judge can adjourn a hearing because they feel that it is not conducive to the case for it to be held at that time.
- A party to the case can apply to the court to adjourn a hearing because they cannot attend or need more time to gather evidence.
The form used to apply to the court to adjourn a court hearing during financial proceedings is form D11. The form used during child proceedings is form C2.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM D11
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR FORM C2
WHAT IS A COURT TRANSCRIPT?
All court hearings are audio recorded and kept safe by the court. When required these recordings are written down on paper for you to read what happened at the hearing (who said what and when). This is called a transcript.
Under rule 27.9 of the family procedure rules all family court hearings in open court are recorded by mechanical means (often digitally).
For more information about court transcripts please click on the link below.
LINK TO OUR L.I.P HELP GUIDE FOR WHAT IS A COURT TRANSCRIPT?
FURTHER READING
For further information about court hearings please click on the link below.