County court revolution & conciliate—or else
THE ONE SHOW
The Family Court (see “Civil way”, NLJ, 24 January 2014, p 15) is almost certain to burst into life on 22 April 2014. Not to be outdone, the civil side of the legal coin is offering excitement too with big money on the County Court dropping out of the legislative womb on the same date through ss 17(1) and (2) of the Crime and Courts Act 2013 coming into force. Macclesfield county court, Aldershot and Farnham county court and every other county court in England and Wales will be absorbed into the one single and solitary County Court sitting at hearing centres based in Macclesfield, Aldershot and wherever else there happens to be a county court presently situated and with administrative offices attached. A single seal and even signage outside each hearing centre is threatened to be changed which could present some confusion where the present name is deeply engrained in concrete.
The 69th CPR update—most of which will be operative with ss 17(1) and (2)—has now been published embracing the Civil
