Coronavirus (Covid-19)—Financial Remedies Court guidance issued

Coronavirus (Covid-19)—Financial Remedies Court guidance issued

In light of the impact of the coronavirus (Covid-19) on the courts, guidance has been issued for Financial Remedies Court (FRC) judges by Mr Justice Mostyn, the national lead judge for the FRC, which states, inter alia, that:

  • first appointments should be dealt with, whenever possible, using the accelerated paper-only procedure set out in the FRC
  • parties should be encouraged to arrange private financial dispute resolution (FDR) appointments, to take place remotely where possible
  • the default position for other hearings is that they should be dealt with either by Skype or by telephone
  • the physical lodging and handling of documents should be avoided and the use of e-bundles is virtually mandatory (see the ), and
  • FRC judges should endeavour to do as much work as they possibly can from home

To assist practitioners, the LexisPSL Family Practice Note on private FDRs and early neutral evaluation, authored by Rhys Taylor of The 36 Group and 30 Park Place and reviewed by HHJ Edward Hess, the deputy lead national judge for the FRC, may be downloaded below:

Geraldine Morris is a solicitor and head of  


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About the author:

Geraldine is Head of ÀÏ˾»úÎçÒ¹¸£Àû UK Family Practical Guidance. She was admitted as a solicitor in 1992 and was in practice for 15 years, most recently as a partner and head of the family team at Hart Brown, a large Surrey firm.

Geraldine writes for Butterworths Family Law Service and is a past editor of the Resolution Review. She has been published in the New Law Journal, the Law Society Gazette and the District Judges’ Bulletin as well as in the national press including the Times and the Telegraph.

When in practice she was a member of the Law Society Family and Children Panels, and an accredited Resolution Specialist with a focus on advanced financial provision and pensions. A past Resolution regional secretary and press officer, Geraldine also contributed chapters to the Resolution publications, International Aspects of Family Law (3rd Edition) and The Modern Family.