Sir James Munby, the President of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales has recently reiterated the importance of families and local authorities adhering to court orders.
After Bristol City Council took too long to respond to orders made by the court in an adoption appeals process, Sir Munby said that non-compliance with official orders would lead to a “consequence”.
He said: “The court is entitled to expect – and from now on family courts will demand – strict compliance with all such orders. Non-compliance with orders should be expected to have and will usually have a consequence.”
“An order that something is to be done by 4 pm on Friday, is an order to do that thing by 4 pm on Friday, not by 4.21 pm on Friday let alone by 3.01 pm the following Monday or sometime later the following week. A person who finds himself unable to comply timeously with his obligations under an order should apply for an extension of time before the time for compliance has expired. It is simply not acceptable to put forward as an explanation for non-compliance with an order the burden of other work.”
While stating that any non-compliance was a serious matter, the President said that it was an even grave situation if a public body or local authority was muddying the process.
The full transcript of Sir Munby’s statement can be found on the legislation website Bailii here.
Later on, in the 7th edition of the View From the President’s Chambers statement, Sir Munby said that this “deeply-rooted culture in the family courts….will no longer be tolerated.”
He added: “I refer to the slapdash, lackadaisical and on occasions almost contumelious attitude which still far too frequently characterises the response to orders made by family courts. There is simply no excuse for this. Orders, including interlocutory orders, must be obeyed and complied with to the letter and on time. Too often they are not. They are not preferences, requests or mere indications; they are orders.”
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by Karis Jones
