The Family Procedure Rules 2010

The circumstances in which proceedings may be transferred between courts

7.24.—(1) A court may transfer the hearing of a case which is due to be heard in one court to another court of the same type at which hearings of those proceedings are permitted under rule7.23.

(2) A court in which matrimonial or civil partnership proceedings are pending may order them, or an application made in the course of them—

(a) if the proceedings are pending in the High Court, to be transferred from the registry in which they are pending to another district registry;

(b) if the proceedings are matrimonial proceedings pending in a divorce county court, to be transferred from that county court to another divorce county court; and

(c) if the proceedings are civil partnership proceedings pending in a civil partnership proceedings county court, to be transferred from that county court to another civil partnership proceedings county court.

(3) An order transferring the hearing of an application must not be made under paragraph (2) unless it would be more convenient than transferring the proceedings themselves.

(4) No transfer may be made under this rule or under section 38 or 39 of the 1984 Act(1) (transfers between High Court and a county court) unless—

(a) the parties consent to the transfer;

(b) the court has held a hearing to determine whether a transfer should be ordered; or

(c) the court has transferred a case without a hearing where neither party has, within 14 days of being notified in writing of the court’s intention to make such an order, requested a hearing to determine whether a transfer should be ordered.

(5) Proceedings—

(a) which are transferred from the High Court to a divorce county court or a civil partnership proceedings county court and are to continue after the transfer in the principal registry are to be treated as pending in a divorce or civil partnership proceedings county court (as the case may be); and

(b) which are transferred from a divorce county court or a civil partnership proceedings county court to the High Court and are to continue after the transfer in the principal registry are no longer to be treated as pending in a divorce or civil partnership proceedings county court (as the case may be).

(6) Proceedings transferred from a divorce county court or a civil partnership proceedings county court to the High Court are to proceed in the registry nearest to the court from which they were transferred unless—

(a) the order transferring the proceedings directs otherwise; or

(b) the court subsequently orders.

(1)

Section 38 was amended by article 3 of the Civil Partnership (Family Proceedings and Housing Consequential Amendments) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/3336) and section 108(5) of and paragraph 51 of Schedule 13 to the Children Act 1989 and section 261(1) of and paragraphs 93 and 94 of Schedule 27 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004.