The Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2013
| Jurisdiction | UK Non-devolved |
| Citation | SI 2013/1916 |
2013 No. 1916
Ecclesiastical Law, England
The Faculty Jurisdiction Rules 2013
Made 23th May 2013
Approved by the General Synod 7th July 2013
Coming into force 1st January 2014
The Rule Committee, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 26 of the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 19911, makes the following Rules:
PART 1
Overriding objective
Overriding objective
1.1.—(1) The overriding objective of these Rules is to enable the court to deal with cases justly.
(2) Dealing with a case justly includes, so far as practicable—
(a)
(a) ensuring that the parties are on an equal footing;
(b)
(b) saving expense;
(c)
(c) dealing with the case in ways that are proportionate to the importance of the case and the complexity of the issues; and
(d)
(d) ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously and fairly.
Application by the court of the overriding objective
1.2. The court must seek to give effect to the overriding objective when it—
(a) exercises any power given to it by these Rules; or
(b) interprets any rule.
Duty of the parties
1.3. The parties are required to help the court further the overriding objective.
Court’s duty to manage cases
1.4.—(1) The court must further the overriding objective by actively managing cases.
(2) Active case management includes—
(a)
(a) encouraging the parties and any other persons concerned in the proceedings to co-operate with each other—
(i) in the conduct of the proceedings, and
(ii) in resolving, as far as possible, matters that are in dispute between them;
(b)
(b) identifying the issues at an early stage;
(c)
(c) deciding promptly which issues (if any) need full investigation and a hearing in court and accordingly disposing of others summarily or on consideration of written representations;
(d)
(d) deciding the order in which issues are to be resolved;
(e)
(e) fixing timetables or otherwise controlling the progress of the case;
(f)
(f) considering whether the likely benefits of taking a particular step justify the cost of taking it;
(g)
(g) dealing with as many aspects of the case as the court can on the same occasion;
(h)
(h) dealing with the case without the parties needing to attend court;
(i)
(i) making effective use of technology; and
(j)
(j) giving directions to ensure that the resolution of a case proceeds quickly and efficiently.
Case management powers
1.5. The court’s case management powers are set out in Part 17.
PART 2
Application and interpretation of the Rules
Application of the Rules
2.1. These Rules apply to all proceedings in consistory courts relating to—
(a) the faculty jurisdiction;
(b) injunctions; and
(c) restoration orders.
Interpretation
2.2.—(1) In these Rules—
“the archdeacon” means the archdeacon of the archdeaconry in which the church, churchyard or other building or place to which the proceedings relate is situated or, where an instrument made under section 9(1) of the Church of England (Miscellaneous Provisions) Measure 19832is in force, the person appointed to perform the functions of the archdeacon to which these Rules relate;
“article” includes any article appertaining to a building which is subject to the faculty jurisdiction by virtue of an order made under section 11(4) of the Measure;
“the chancellor” means the chancellor (or, in the case of the diocese of Canterbury, the Commissary General) of the diocese in which the church, churchyard or other building or place to which the proceedings relate is situated and includes any person appointed to act as deputy chancellor;
“church” includes—
(a) any building which is licensed for public worship according to the rites and ceremonies of the Church of England and is subject to the faculty jurisdiction, and
(b) the curtilage of a church unless the contrary intention appears;
“churchyard” includes a consecrated burial ground not adjacent to the church;
“confirmatory faculty” means a faculty which validates any act requiring a faculty which has been done without prior authorisation by faculty;
“costs” includes costs and expenses which a person may be ordered to pay under section 13(1) of the Measure;
“the court” means the consistory court of the diocese (or, in the case of the diocese of Canterbury, the Commissary Court)
“English Heritage” means the Historic Buildings and Monuments Commission for England;
“exhumation” includes the removal of a body (or part of a body) or of cremated human remains from a catacomb, mausoleum, vault or columbarium;
“injunction” means an injunction issued under section 13(4) of the Measure;
“interim faculty” means a faculty issued under Part 14;
“interim injunction” means an injunction issued under rule 15.6;
“listed building” has the same meaning as it has in the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 19903;
“listed church” means a church which is a listed building;
“the Measure” means the Care of Churches and Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction Measure 1991;
“minister”, in relation to a parish, has the same meaning as in the Measure;
“national amenity society” has the same meaning as in the Measure;
“the registrar” means the registrar of the diocese in which the church, churchyard or other building or place to which the proceedings relate is situated and includes any person appointed to act as deputy registrar;
“the registry” means the diocesan registry of the diocese in which the church, churchyard or other building or place to which the proceedings relate is situated;
“the relevant person or body” means, in relation to a building which is included in the list maintained by the Church Buildings Council under section 1(1) of the Care of Places of Worship Measure 19994, the person or body entitled to make an application in respect of the building by virtue of paragraph 1 of Schedule 1 to that Measure;
“restoration order” means an order made under section 13(5) of the Measure.
(2) These Rules apply to proceedings in the Commissary Court of Canterbury as they apply to proceedings in a consistory court.
(3) A reference in these Rules to a numbered form is a reference to the form bearing that number in Schedule 3.
(4) A reference in these Rules to a building included in the list maintained by the Church Buildings Council under section 1(1) of the Care of Places of Worship Measure 1999 includes—
(a)
(a) any curtilage, monument, object or structure included in the list under section 1(4) of that Measure; and
(b)
(b) any object or structure fixed to the building.
(5) For the purposes of these Rules, faculty proceedings are opposed only if there is a party opponent to the proceedings and references to a petition or to proceedings being opposed or unopposed are to be construed accordingly.
Time
2.3.—(1) This rule shows how to calculate any period of time for doing any act which is specified by these Rules.
(2) A period of time expressed as a number of days shall be computed as clear days.
(3) In this rule ‘clear days’ means that in computing the number of days—
(a)
(a) the day on which the period begins; and
(b)
(b) if the end of the period is defined by reference to an event, the day on which that event occurs
are not included.
(4) Where the specified period is—
(a)
(a) 5 days or less; and
(b)
(b) includes—
(i) a Saturday or Sunday; or
(ii) a Bank Holiday, Christmas Day or Good Friday,
that day does not count.
(5) When the period specified by these Rules for doing any act in respect of the registry ends on a day on which the registry is closed, that act shall be in time if done on the next day on which the registry is open.
PART 3
Seeking advice prior to commencement of proceedings
Seeking the advice of the Diocesan Advisory Committee
3.1.—(1) Before commencing proceedings in the consistory court, intending applicants should seek the advice of the Diocesan Advisory Committee on the works or other proposals in respect of which a faculty, injunction or restoration order is to be sought unless paragraph (2) applies.
(2) The advice of the Diocesan Advisory Committee is not required if the proceedings—
(a)
(a) relate exclusively to—
(i) exhumation, or
(ii) the reservation of a grave space; or
(b)
(b) are sufficiently urgent to justify the grant of a faculty, the issue of an injunction or the making of a restoration order without obtaining the Committee’s advice.
Documents etc. to be submitted to the Diocesan Advisory Committee
3.2.—(1) Except in a case to which rule 3.5(2) applies (trees), intending applicants must submit the following to the Diocesan Advisory Committee when seeking its advice—
(a)
(a) the standard information in Form 1A (where advice is being sought pursuant to a resolution of the parochial church council) or Form 1B (where advice is being sought by the relevant person or body) (but see paragraph (2));
(b)
(b) a summary of the works or other proposals on which advice is being sought;
(c)
(c) any relevant designs;
(d)
(d) any relevant plans;
(e)
(e) any relevant photographs;
(f)
(f) any other documents giving particulars of the works or other proposals;
(g)
(g) any relevant correspondence received from the Church Buildings Council; and
(h)
(h) in the case of works that fall within paragraph 1 of Schedule 1, the information and other documents required to be provided to the Committee by paragraph 7 of that Schedule.
(2) If the intending applicants have previously submitted the standard information required by paragraph (1)(a) to the Diocesan Advisory Committee they need not do so again unless the information that was previously...
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