Family Procedure Ordinance gazetted today
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The Family Procedure Ordinance was gazetted today (June 30) to legislate for a consolidated set of procedural rules for the family justice system.
The objective of the Ordinance is to put in place a single unified set of accessible and comprehensive court procedural rules applicable to all family and matrimonial proceedings across the Family Court and the High Court.
Upon enactment of the Ordinance, certain sections will take effect first. These include the establishment of a new Family Procedure Rules Committee as the single rule-making authority and the setting up of a new Family Masters system to alleviate the workload of the judges in the Family Court. Other sections of the Ordinance will commence together with the Family Procedure Rules (Rules) on a later date to be appointed by the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal.
A spokesman for the Judiciary said, "The implementation of the Ordinance and the Rules will make the court-related procedures more efficient, certain and user-friendly. The Rules will be drafted in plain language to ensure they are readily comprehensible where practicable. After consideration by the Family Procedure Rules Committee, the Judiciary will put forward the draft Rules for further stakeholder consultation."
Ends/Friday, June 30, 2023
Issued at HKT 11:00
Issued at HKT 11:00
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