Case No. FD22P00083

15.It may assist to give some general guidance as to the appropriate procedure for these sorts of applications which, in the ordinary course of events, will be uncontested.16.An application of this nature, being for a Specific Issue Order, must be made in Form C100. Much of the form is not relevant to applications of this nature, but it is easy to navigate and complete. 17.Paragraph 5(b) of Form C100 says: “Do not give a full statement, please provide a summary of any relevant reasons. You may be asked to file a full statement later”. Because of the technical aspects of these applications, involving applicable law in foreign jurisdictions, and the need to avoid delay, I consider it essential that a witness statement is filed in support, setting out the circumstances in full. It is unlikely that brief reasons set out on the form will be sufficient. 18.By FPR 2010 rule 12.3(1), every person whom the applicant believes to have parental responsibility for the child must be made a respondent to an application in private law proceedings, which includes for a Specific Issue Order. Usually, in circumstances where the applicant is one parent, and the other parent is sadly deceased, there will be no automatic respondents. It is possible to envisage a situation where another family member has parental responsibility by court order, in which case that person must be made a respondent, but such cases will be rare. 19.It is highly unlikely that the child would need to be joined; probably only if the child fundamentally disagrees with the application, and is of an age where he/she can validly object.20.It will sometimes be the case that other persons are legally or beneficially interested in the relevant property. In my judgment, any third party who has, or appears to have, a legal or beneficial interest in the property that is the subject of the application should be (i) notified of the application; (ii) invited to provide confirmation as to whether they do or do not oppose the application; and (iii) reminded that they may, if so advised, make an application to be joined to the proceedings pursuant to FPR 2010 rule 12.3(3). In the present case, B’s adult sister was formally made a party, and indicated no opposition in her Acknowledgment of Service. It seems to me that, in fact, it was not necessary to join her; notification of the proceedings and confirmation of her position would have been sufficient. Usually, in my view, third parties will not need to be joined absent good reason, because their rights are not generally affected by the sort of application before me today. It is unlikely that a third party would oppose authorisation to accept an inheritance, which is personal to the minor. As for an authorisation to enter into a contract for sale, that is not an order for sale; it simply entitles the applicant to enable a sale to be effected on behalf of the minor. A third party is not prohibited from opposing a sale under the relevant domestic law if he/she thinks fit. 21.Where the child who is the subject of the application is thought to be Gillick competent, his or her views should usually be sought informally by the applicant. 22.The applicant should claim a MIAM exemption (the C100 does not provide a specific category for exemption in cases of this nature, but in my view, it is sufficient to claim the exemption without identifying a specific category) and the court should dispense with the need for attendance at a MIAM.23.In Re AC, I concluded at paragraph 23 that the appropriate venue for a Specific Issue Order application such as this is the Family Court. That remains my view. The President's Guidance “