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This authoritative set of best practice guidelines has been fully updated, revised and extended. Developed by the Law Society in association with Resolution, the Legal Services Commission and the Department for Constitutional Affairs, this is the text for family law practitioners to follow.

The second edition of this indispensable book updates the Protocol with particular changes to the sections on cohabitation, domestic violence and mediation. The changes include:

• a new section on committals
• parental responsibility for unmarried fathers under the Adoption and Children Act 2002
• changes to mediation including collaborative law and other ADR methods
• domestic violence and its effect on contact and residence applications
• the effect of the new Civil Partnerships Act 2005
• new and expanded appendices.

Download the protocol for free

The documents below are in PDF format. To download them, you'll need Adobe Acrobat installed on your computer. If you don't have this, you can download it free of charge from the Adobe website.

Full protocol (1,412 kb)

Alternatively, choose a section below:

Introduction (288 kb)
Part 1 - Main Protocol (243 kb)
Part 2 - Proceedings for dissolution of marriage: divorce, judicial separation or nullity (204 kb)
Part 3 - Children: private law (400 kb)
Part 4 - Protocols for ancillary relief (265 kb)
Part 5 - Cohabitation (179 kb)
Part 6 - Domestic abuse (261 kb)
Part 7 - Alternative dispute resolution (172kb)
Appendix 1 - Practice direction (family proceedings: court bundles) (152 kb)
Appendix 2 - Resolution: code of practice (133 kb)
Appendix 3 - Practice note (The Official Solicitors: appointment in family proceedings) (157 kb)
Appendix 4 - Law Society guidance on money laundering issues after Bowman v. Fels (184 kb)
Appendix 5 - Law Society guidance on forced marriages (189 kb)
Appendix 6 - Guidelines for good practice on parental contact in cases where there is domestic violence (135 kb)
Appendix 7 - Family Division: guidance to judges on the implementation of the UK-Pakistan Judicial Protocol on Child Contact and Abduction (203 kb)
Appendix 8 - Family Division: liaison between courts in England and Wales and British Embassies and High Commissions abroad (153 kb)
Appendix 9 - NACCC: Protocol for Referrals of Families by Judges and Magistrates to Child Contact Centres (160 kb)
Appendix 10 - Practice direction (representation of children in family proceedings) (150 kb)
Appendix 11 - CAFCASS: Practice Note - Representation of Children in Family Proceedings (153 kb)
Appendix 12 - CAFCASS: Guidance - Representation of Children in Private Law Proceedings (244 kb)
Appendix 13 - Family Division: President’s interim guidance on the appointment of guardians (131 kb)
Appendix 14 - Family Division: best practice guide for instructing a single joint expert (134 kb)
Appendix 15 - Family Division: disclosure orders against the Inland Revenue (156 kb)
Appendix 16 - The role of the Crown Prosecution Service (192 kb)
Appendix 17 - Useful contacts and addresses (163 kb)

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