Cross Jurisdiction Conference

The Judicial Protocol Regulating Direct Judicial Communications Between Scotland, and England and Wales, in Children’s Cases was first published in July 2018, following on from a series of meetings that took place between members of the Scottish and English judiciaries over 2017- 2018. The purpose of the Cross Border conference is to promote better judicial co-operation in childrens cases between England, Wales and Scotland. In 2021 Northern Ireland was invited to join in this co-operation.

Following a review of the working of that Protocol and discussions with the Northern Ireland judiciary, it was agreed that the Protocol be extended to include Northern Ireland and a revised version of the Protocol can be found below.

The 2018 Protocol was supported by supplementary information in the form of a Handbook on family law relating to children in Scotland and in England & Wales, which can also be found below. A supplementary Handbook to include Northern Ireland family law can also be found below.

A new protocol regulating communications between judges in Scotland, England & Wales, and Northern Ireland has been agreed for cases involving adults who lack capacity.

Published on 7 May 2025, the protocol for cases involving adults who lack capacity was agreed on 4 April 2025 following a series of meetings of members of the judiciary from each jurisdiction between 2021 and 2025.

It sets out that direct judicial communications are to be conducted using a request form sent to the relevant office.

The protocol is supported by supplementary information in the form of a Handbook on law relating to Adults Who Lack Capacity in England & Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The protocol, request form and accompanying handbook can be found below.