page_title: Family proceedings court
hierarchical_section_title: Family proceedings court
caption_attribution_description: Outline of English courts system - this is the work of A N Cutler which has been released into the public domain
context_page_description: In England and Wales, family proceedings court was the name given to a magistrates' court when members of the court's family panel sat to hear a family case. It was a court of first instance in England and Wales that dealt with family matters. Cases were either heard in front of a bench of lay magistrates or a district judge.
  From 22 April 2014 the family proceedings court has ceased to exist and its functions were absorbed into the new single Family Court following the enactment of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. Magistrates continue to sit in family proceedings in the way described but within a different court arrangement.
context_section_description: In England and Wales, family proceedings court was the name given to a magistrates' court when members of the court's family panel sat to hear a family case.  It was a court of first instance in England and Wales that dealt with family matters.  Cases were either heard in front of a bench of lay magistrates or a district judge (magistrates' courts).
  From 22 April 2014 the family proceedings court has ceased to exist and its functions were absorbed into the new single Family Court following the enactment of the Crime and Courts Act 2013. Magistrates continue to sit in family proceedings in the way described but within a different court arrangement.
caption: Schematic of court system for England and Wales
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