If neither the Family Litigation Act nor a Supreme Court rule names the court for a non-contentious family matter, which family court has jurisdiction?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In practice material of this kind, we read the petition to see whether the matter is one the Act or a Supreme Court rule already places with a named court, and we check where the Supreme Court sits, since the provision turns on both that absence and that place.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading treats this as a residual rule: where neither the Family Litigation Act nor a Supreme Court rule designates the court for a non-contentious family matter, jurisdiction lies with the family court at the place where the Supreme Court is located, and no choice of court is left open.
Another reading stresses the condition of absence: once the Act or a Supreme Court rule does designate a court, this default falls away entirely, and the provision reaches only non-contentious family matters, saying nothing about contentious family cases or about any other family court taking the case.
Your judgment
Where the file shows no court has been designated, what in the papers shows the matter is a non-contentious family matter rather than a contentious one?
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 change the default court, or if a Supreme Court rule is made that designates a court for the kind of matter in the file.