In a Category-R family non-contentious case, may the court give its ruling without first examining the persons connected with the case?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file, the application and the papers showing which category of family non-contentious case is before the court matter most, since the permission turns on the case falling within Category-R. The hearing record shows whether any person connected with the case was examined, and any provision of another law or Supreme Court Rule cited as requiring an examination.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading reads the permission by its category: for the trial of a Category-R family non-contentious case, the court may proceed without examining the persons connected with the case, and this holds only where this Act, another law or a Supreme Court Rule contains no special provision on the point.
Another reading notes that the permission is not a duty, since the provision says the court may proceed without an examination rather than must, and it leaves open which cases fall inside Category-R and what counts elsewhere as a special provision, so the file has to show both.
Your judgment
If a family non-contentious case is decided without examining anyone, how could the file show that the case fell within Category-R and that no special provision required an examination?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to widen or narrow the category it covers, or if a Supreme Court Rule or a court decision clarifies what counts as a special provision requiring examination or which cases fall inside Category-R.