Domestic Abuse Act 2021 Cross – Examination Provisions In Family And Civil Proceedings

  • 23/06/2022

Registration For Qualified Legal Practitioners For Cross-Examination Work

 

The Ministry of Justice is continuing to register experienced qualified legal practitioners to undertake cross-examination work in family and civil proceedings in line with provisions in the Domestic Abuse Act which will be commencing shortly.

 

Barristers and solicitors with cross-examination expertise and vulnerable witness and advocacy training are invited to register for court appointed cross-examination work in family and civil proceedings. Lawyers registering to conduct cross-examination in place of prohibited parties will help victims in court to engage more confidently with the justice process and exercise their rights to a fair trial. For information on how to register please see below.

 

We wish to clarify that solicitors who may be interested in registering for this work do not need a Higher Rights of Audience (HRA) qualification to appear / conduct cross-examination in either the Family Court or County Court. An HRA qualification will only be needed for to appear in proceedings in ‘higher courts’, which for these our purposes are the High Court (the Family Division for family proceedings, or the Queen’s Bench/Chancery Divisions for civil proceedings); or the civil division of the Court of Appeal.

 

Please see the below information pertaining to this new work:

 

To register, please download complete the registration form and excel spreadsheet (indicating court preferences) which should returned to: [email protected] by Monday 27 June.

 

Please do not hesitate to contact Shan Maraj on tel: 07580 701407 if you have any further queries.

 

Best Wishes,

Domestic Abuse Policy Team