M (A Child), Re

The jurisdiction of the Family Division of the High Court does not extend to Northern Ireland. Accordingly, it has no power to order discovery against solicitors acting in personal injury proceedings there. An application seeking such relief is hopeless and should be refused. Permission to appeal from its refusal should likewise be refused.

The applicant father sought discovery from a Northern Irish solicitor acting for his severely injured daughter in personal injury proceedings. Kirkwood J refused the application on the ground that the Family Division’s jurisdiction did not extend to Northern Ireland and that the court had no power to make orders against solicitors acting there. The father applied for permission to appeal, maintaining that the jurisdictions were sufficiently interconnected. The central issue was whether the High Court had jurisdiction to grant the discovery sought.

Lord Justice Thorpe refused permission to appeal.

1. The Family Division of the High Court had no jurisdiction extending to Northern Ireland. The separation of jurisdiction within the United Kingdom did not give the court power to make orders against solicitors acting in Northern Irish personal injury proceedings.
2. The applicant’s belief that the relationship between Northern Ireland and this country was sufficiently entwined to confer jurisdiction was erroneous. The application made to Kirkwood J was therefore hopeless and had been rightly refused.
3. For the same reason, the application for permission to appeal was hopeless and had to be refused.

Because the applicant was disabled, the court directed that a copy of the transcript of the judgment be supplied to him at public expense.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): In [2001] EWCA Civ 576, permission to appeal was refused.
• High Court, Family Division: Kirkwood J refused the father’s application for discovery on 23 June 2000.