S (A Child)

Where an application for permission to appeal cannot properly be decided at very short notice, the Court of Appeal may adjourn it while preserving the practical subject matter of a potential appeal. An interim order may be made where there is at least some prospect that permission will later be granted and, without protective relief, the appeal would otherwise be frustrated.

The appellant applied urgently in proceedings concerning S, a child. The application was heard by the Court of Appeal on very short notice, with the parties and the court having little preparation time. The application concerned whether S should be permitted to sit an examination for Cheltenham Ladies’ College pending a further decision on permission to appeal from the Family Division.

The central issue was whether the court should determine permission immediately or preserve the position pending a later decision.

1. Application adjourned. The Court of Appeal did not consider it appropriate to grant permission to appeal at that stage, but considered that there was at least some prospect that permission might be granted in due course.
2. In those circumstances, the court should preserve the position pending the further decision. S was therefore permitted to sit the examination for Cheltenham Ladies’ College on the following day or on the succeeding Thursday and Friday.
3. The protective order was necessary because, without it, any appeal for which permission was later granted could be frustrated. The order was made to hold the ring pending the further decision.

• Court of Appeal (Civil Division): On an urgent application arising from the Family Division, the application for permission to appeal was adjourned. The court made an interim order permitting S to sit the examination pending a further decision.