The Practice Direction issued on 9 May 2008 is re-issued in the following revised form to reflect the decision of the House of Lords in Re B (Children) [2008] UKHL 35, in which Baroness Hale confirmed (at [76]) that a fact-finding hearing is part of the process of trying a case and is not a separate exercise and that where the case is then adjourned for further hearing it remains part heard. This principle applies equally in private law and public law family cases. Paragraphs 15 and 23 of the Practice Direction have been amended to reinforce this principle.
