Committee set up to review the Court Of Protection Rules 2007

THURS 10/12/2009 - The President of the Court of Protection, Sir Mark Potter, has announced that he is setting up an ad-hoc committee to undertake a review of the Court of Protection Rules 2007 and the practice directions and forms which accompany the Rules.

The committee will be chaired jointly by Mr Justice Charles and Mrs Justice Proudman and membership will be drawn from the legal profession and other professional and non-professional court users.

Sir Mark said: "The Court of Protection has faced a number of difficulties in its first two years and court users have complained that court procedure is too formal particularly in relation to straightforward financial matters which are not contentious. The court has also received applications far in excess of predicted volumes which has meant that the allocation of four full time Judges has not been sufficient to keep pace with demand.

"In establishing the Rules Committee, my aim is to create a set of rules, practice directions and forms that are clear and simple for lay and professional users to understand. Where possible, the committee should simplify the handling of routine property and affairs cases which constitute the majority of applications to court, for example by slimming down some of the procedures."

Last month the media were to be granted access to proceedings of the Court of Protection following a High Court ruling.

Mr Justice Hedley ruled that the media should be allowed to attend future hearings at the court, provided they have good reason to do so. However, they will remain closed to the public due to the sensitive nature of the hearings.
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