The Civil Procedure Rules 1998

[F1 Special advocate: communicating about proceedings E+W

82.11.— (1) The special advocate may communicate with the specially represented party or the specially represented party’s legal representative at any time before a relevant person serves sensitive material on the special advocate.

(2) After the relevant person serves sensitive material on the special advocate, the special advocate must not communicate with any person about any matter connected with the proceedings, except in accordance with paragraph (3) or (6)(b) or with a direction of the court pursuant to a request under paragraph (4).

(3) The special advocate may, without directions from the court, communicate about the proceedings with—

(a) the court;

(b) the relevant person (where this is not the Secretary of State);

(c) the Secretary of State or any person acting for the Secretary of State;

(d) the Attorney General or any person acting for the Attorney General; or

(e) any other person, except the specially represented party or the specially represented party’s legal representative, with whom it is necessary for administrative purposes for the special advocate to communicate about matters not connected with the substance of the proceedings.

(4) The special advocate may request directions from the court authorising the special advocate to communicate with the specially represented party or the specially represented party’s legal representative or with any other person.

(5) Where the special advocate makes a request for directions under paragraph (4)—

(a) the court must notify the relevant person, and (where the relevant person is not the Secretary of State) the Secretary of State, of the request and of the content of the proposed communication and the form in which it is proposed to be made; and

(b) the relevant person or the Secretary of State or each of them (where each wishes to object) must, within a period specified by the court, file with the court and serve on the special advocate notice of any objection which the relevant person or the Secretary of State has to the proposed communication or to the form in which it is proposed to be made.

(6) Paragraph (2) does not prohibit the specially represented party from communicating with the special advocate after the relevant person has served material on the special advocate, but—

(a) the specially represented party may only communicate with the special advocate in writing through the specially represented party’s legal representative; and

(b) the special advocate must not reply to the communication other than in accordance with directions of the court, except that the special advocate may without such directions send a written acknowledgment of receipt to the specially represented party’s legal representative.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Pt. 82 inserted (27.6.2013) by The Civil Procedure (Amendment No. 5) Rules 2013 (S.I. 2013/1571), rule 1, Sch.