FPR 2010 deals with the subject of inquiry & information inconsistently, says David Burrows
One of the oddities of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 is that the subject of inquiry and information is not dealt with in a consistent way. Indeed, in an area of law often described as “inquisitorial” it is often not dealt with at all. In “Spare part”, Mary Blyth looks critically at the information request procedure in the Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Pt 18 (Further Information) and of National Grid Electricity Transmission plc v ABB Ltd and ors [2012] EWHC 869 (Ch), [2012] All ER (D) 92 (Apr). What of the same subject in the context of family proceedings? It will be recalled that CPR 1998 cannot apply to family proceedings (CPR 1998, r 2.1(2)); so formally CPR 1998, Pt 18 cannot apply in family proceedings.
Information & inquiry
The assertion that the family courts have an inquisitorial role, or that family courts have a “non-adversarial role” (which is not quite the same thing) recurs frequently in case law. No authority (beyond those referred to below) is given
