Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984

• (b) section 34 of that Act (power to order disclosure or inspection of documents or property of non-party);

• (c) section 37 of that Act (power to grant injunction or appoint receiver);

• (d) section 39 of that Act (power to order documents to be executed or indorsed by nominated person);

• (e) section 70(1) and (2) of that Act (assessors);

• (f) section 57 of the County Courts Act 1984 (evidence of prisoners);

• (g) section 71 of that Act (powers as to payment of costs).

31K

• (1) Subject to any order made under section 56(1) of the Access to Justice Act 1999 (power to provide for appeals to be made instead to the High Court or county court, or to the family court itself), if any party to any proceedings in the family court is dissatisfied with the decision of the court, that party may appeal from it to the Court of Appeal in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be provided by Family Procedure Rules.

• (2) Subsection (1) does not—

• (a) confer any right of appeal from any decision where a right of appeal is conferred by some other enactment, or

• (b) take away any right of appeal from any decision where a right of appeal is so conferred,

and has effect subject to any enactment other than this Part; and in this subsection “enactment” means an enactment whenever passed.

• (3) The Lord Chancellor may, after consulting the Lord Chief Justice, by order make provision as to the circumstances in which appeals may be made against decisions taken by courts or judges on questions arising in connection with the transfer, or proposed transfer, of proceedings from or to the family court.

• (4) Except to the extent provided for in any order made under subsection (3), no appeal may be made against any decision of a kind mentioned in that subsection.

• (5) At the hearing of any proceedings in the family court in which there is a right of appeal or from which an appeal may be brought with permission, the judge, if requested to do so by any party, is to make a note—

• (a) of any question of law raised at the hearing,

• (b) of the facts in evidence in relation to any such question, and

• (c) of the court's decision on any such question and of the court's determination of the proceedings.

• (6) Where such a note is made, and whether or not an appeal has been made, the court—

• (a) on the application of any party to the proceedings, and

• (b) on payment of the fee (if any) prescribed under section 92 of the Courts Act 2003,

is to provide that party with a copy of the note signed by the judge, and the copy so signed is to be used at the hearing of any appeal.

• (7) Section 81 of the County Courts Act 1984 (powers of Court of Appeal on appeal from county court) applies to appeals from the family court to the Court of Appeal as it applies to appeals from the county court to the Court of Appeal.

• (8) The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise functions of the Lord Chief Justice under subsection (3).

31L

• (1) Payment of a fine or penalty imposed by the family court may be enforced upon the order of the court in like manner as a judgment of the court for the payment of money.

• (2) Rules of court may, in relation to cases where under two or more orders made by or registered in the family court the same person is required to make periodical payments to the same recipient, make provision—

• (a) for recovery of payments under more than one of the orders to be dealt with in the same proceedings;

• (b) for apportioning, between some or all of the orders, payments made by the person required to make payments under the orders.

• (3) Subsection (4) applies where—

• (a) periodical payments are required to be made, or a lump sum is required to be paid, to a child under an order made by the family court, or

• (b) periodical payments are required to be made to a child under an order registered in the family court.

• (4) Any sum required under the order to be paid to the child may be paid to the person who looks after the child, and that person may proceed in that person's own name for—

• (a) the variation, revival or revocation of the order, or

• (b) the recovery of any sum required to be paid under the order.

• (5) Where a child has a right under any Act or instrument made under an Act to apply for the revival of an order made by the family court which provided for the making of periodical payments to or for the benefit of the child, the person who looks after the child may proceed in the person's own name for the revival of the order.

• (6) Where any person by whom periodical payments are required to be paid to a child under an order made by or registered in the family court applies for the variation or revocation of the order, the person who looks after the child may answer the application in the person's own name.

• (7) Nothing in subsections (4) and (5) affects any right of a child to proceed in the child's own name for the variation, revival or revocation of an order or for the recovery of a sum payable under an order.

• (8) In this section—

• (a) a reference to the person who looks after a child is—

• (i) in the case of a child who is being looked after by a local authority (within the meaning of section 22 of the Children Act 1989 or section 74 of the Social Services and Well-being (Wales) Act 2014), a reference to that local authority, and

• (ii) in any other case, a reference to the person who, disregarding any absence of the child at a hospital or boarding school and any other temporary absence, has care of the child;

• (b) “child” means a person under the age of 18;

• (c) a reference to an order registered in the family court is a reference to an order registered in the court under the Maintenance Orders (Facilities for Enforcement) Act 1920, Part 2 of the Maintenance Orders Act 1950, Part 1 of the Maintenance Orders Act 1958 or the Maintenance Orders (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1972 ....

31M

• (1) The Lord Chancellor may by regulations provide for the keeping of records of and in relation to proceedings of the family court.

• (2) Any entry in a book or other document required to be kept by regulations under subsection (1), or a copy of any such entry or document purporting to be signed and certified as a true copy by a judge of the family court, is at all times without further proof to be admitted in any court or place as evidence of the entry and of the proceeding referred to by it and of the regularity of that proceeding.

• (3) The Lord Chancellor must consult the Lord Chief Justice before making regulations under this section.

• (4) The Lord Chief Justice may nominate a judicial office holder (as defined in section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005) to exercise functions of the Lord Chief Justice under this section.

31N

• (1) Where any summons or other process issued from the family court is served by an officer of the court, the service may be proved by a certificate in a prescribed form showing the fact and mode of the service.

• (2) Section 133(2) of the County Courts Act 1984 (offence and punishment) applies in relation to any officer of the family court wilfully and corruptly giving a false certificate under subsection (1) as it applies in relation to any officer of the county court wilfully and corruptly giving a false certificate under section 133(1) of that Act.

• (3) Sections 135 and 136 of that Act (offences of pretending to have court's authority etc) apply in relation to the family court as they apply in relation to the county court.

31O

• (1) The Lord Chief Justice may authorise a person—

• (a) to give advice to judges of the family court about matters of law (including procedure and practice) on questions arising in connection with the discharge by them of functions conferred on them or the court, including questions arising when the person is not personally attending on them, and

• (b) to bring to the attention of judges of the family court, at any time when the person thinks appropriate, any point of law (including procedure and practice) that is or may be involved in any question so arising.

• (2) The Lord Chief Justice may authorise a person under subsection (1) only if the person—

• (a) is appointed under section 2(1) of the Courts Act 2003 or section 40(1) of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, and

• (b) has such qualifications as may be prescribed by regulations made by the Lord Chancellor with the agreement of the Lord Chief Justice.

• (3) An authorisation under subsection (1)—

• (a) may be subject to conditions, and

• (b) may be varied or revoked by the Lord Chief Justice at any time.

• (4) The Lord Chief Justice may give directions to a person authorised to exercise functions under subsection (1).

• (5) Apart from such directions, a person authorised to exercise functions under subsection (1) is not subject to the direction of the Lord Chancellor or any other person when exercising the functions.

• (6) The Lord Chief Justice may nominate one or more of the following to exercise the Lord Chief Justice's functions under the preceding provisions of this section—

• (a) a judicial office holder;

• (b) a person appointed under section 2(1) of the Courts Act 2003 or section 40(1) of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007.

• (7) A person nominated under subsection (6)(b) to exercise functions of the Lord Chief Justice is not subject to the direction of any person other than—

• (a) the Lord Chief Justice, or

• (b) a judicial office holder nominated by the Lord Chief Justice,

when exercising the functions.

• (8) In this section “judicial office holder” has the meaning given by section 109(4) of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

31P

• (1) Any power of the Lord Chancellor to make an order, regulations or rules under this Part—

• (a) is exercisable by statutory instrument,

• (b) includes power to make different provision for different purposes, and

• (c) includes power to make supplementary, incidental, consequential, transitional, transitory or saving provision.

• (2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

• (3) A statutory instrument that—

• (a) contains an order, regulations or rules made under this Part by the Lord Chancellor other than regulations under section 31M, and

• (b) is not subject to any requirement that a draft of the instrument be laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament,

is subject to annulment in pursuance of a resolution of either House of Parliament.

Amendments, transitional provisions and repeals.