Amendments to the Family Procedure Rules 2010

Amendments to the Family Procedure Rules 2010 (FPR 2010) will come into force on the 7 December 2015 and 1 January 2016 by virtue of the Family Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2015, SI 2015/1868, together with two new Practice Directions.

Original news

Family Procedure (Amendment No. 3) Rules 2015, SI 2015/1868

Changes will be made to the FPR 2010 from 7 December 2015 including the introduction of provisions for e-mailing applications and other documents to the court and a new FPR 2010 PD 5B: Communication and filing of documents by e-mail. Further, consequential changes are made as to the requirements for a mediator to undertake mediation and assessment meetings (MIAMs), and for the disclosure of information from financial remedy proceedings in the family courts (by a new FPR 2010 PD 9B). The rules will come into effect in stages, starting on 7 December 2015, with one rule amendment, and changes to PDs 3A and 12B, coming into effect on 1 January 2016. The amendments and new Practice Directions will apply to any proceedings commenced but not disposed of before the amendments came into force.

Communication and filing of documents by e-mail

A new Practice Direction FPR 2010 PD 5B has been added to the FPR 2010 and comes into force on 7 December 2015.

FPR 2010 PD 5B identifies which documents and communications can be sent to the court by e-mail. The documents, known as specified documents, are documents:

• related to any family proceedings other than adoption proceedings, and
• listed in the e-mail guidance on Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service website as a document that may be sent by e-mail to a specified e-mail address

The e-mail guidance can be found here: Emailing the civil and family courts.

FPR 2010 PD 5B distinguishes between provisions that ap