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Practice Direction No 3 - Care and Protection Applications

1.      Applications

1.1    For matters in which there is an existing Care and Protection order and the Minister requires continuity of orders, the Application shall be filed not less than 14 calendar days prior to expiration of the existing order.

1.2    Prior to service upon the parties the Registry shall endorse upon the Application, the proposed dates of:

          (a)  the first return,   

          (b)  the pre-trial conference (if required), which shall be approximately 6 weeks from the date of the lodgement of the Application

          (c)   the expiry of the 10 weeks pursuant to s.39(a) Children’s Protection Act 1993.

1.3    Form No 106 may be modified to facilitate compliance with this practice direction.

2.      Supplementary Affidavits, Reports etc.

2.1    In an Application for Care and Protection, any documents upon which a party proposes to rely, shall be filed at the Registry and served at least 48 hours prior to the relevant hearing; and the Court expects that counsel will have taken instructions on those documents prior to that date.

3.      Compliance with Children’s Protection Act s.27

3.1    Applications for Orders pursuant to the Children’s Protection Act s. 38 shall be endorsed with,

          (a)  the date upon which the Family Care Meeting was held,

                 or

          (b)  the relevant matter(s) pursuant to s.27(2) upon which the Applicant relies.

4.      The Court may depart from these practice directions to achieve the objects and policies of the Act or if it is otherwise necessary to do so on the interests of the administration of justice but in doing so the Court shall make orders designed to preserve the spirit and intention of these practice directions.

5.      This practice direction will come into operation on 3 April 2006