Evidence, practice and procedure: Timetabling - a new case management priority

Family Procedure (Amendment) (No 5) Rules 2010 come into operation on 31 January 2013. Their main thrust is extensively to re-write FPR 2010 Part 25 (opinion evidence: see later); but they also incorporate a new - well partly new - FPR 2010 r 1.4(2) (court's duty to manage cases) as follows:

"(2) Active case management includes -
(a) setting timetables or otherwise controlling the progress of the case;
(b) identifying at an early stage -
(i) the issues; and
(ii) who should be a party to the proceedings;
(c) deciding promptly -
(i) which issues need full investigation and hearing and which do not; and
(ii) the procedure to be followed in the case;
(d) deciding the order in which issues are to be resolved;
(e) controlling the use of expert evidence;
(f) encouraging the parties to use an alternative dispute resolution procedure if the court considers that appropriate and facilitating the use of such procedure;
(g) helping the parties to settle the whole or part...

Read the full article here.