High Court Quarterly Bulletin for January to March 2011 (Provisional Figures)

Contents

Chancery

Queen’s Bench

Judicial Reviews

Probate

Wardship and Adoption

Matrimonial

Bails

Patients

Official Solicitors

Sitting days and times

High Court figures on Children’s Order cases, Crown Court cases, bail applications and appeals appear in other bulletins.

In the tables relating to time intervals, the total time from issue to disposal may not equal that of the individual time periods due to some dates not being applicable.

Figures are run from an administrative database and may change due to late returns and further validations.

Data source and validations:

Data from the Integrated Courts Operations System (ICOS) are used for this publication. This system has been chosen as it is the main system within the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS). The data are input to this system on a daily basis. A download from this system is supplied to the Statistics and Research team on a weekly basis on flat files.

This information is downloaded via SPSS and validations are produced from this system to ensure that the data are reliable and robust for use. Any inconsistencies are reported back to individual court offices and if required, any necessary amendments are made to the data. Once, these amendments have been checked, computer syntax is then used to produce the tables in the bulletin. The aggregated total figures in the bulletin are produced from the computer syntax. The data are broken down by court location as this is the established way of producing and presenting these data.

To ensure that timely data are used, the latest available extract is used to compile this bulletin.


Summary
During January - March 2011:

Chancery

There were 1,918 cases received into the Chancery division. In total, 51% were chancery cases, 39% were bankruptcy cases and 9% were companies’ cases. There were 1,751 cases disposed of during the reporting period.

Queen’s Bench

There were 1,835 writs received in Queen’s Bench (Fig 1). Of those, 60% were negligence cases. There were 225 default judgments, 378 office disposals and 606 court disposals for writs during the quarter. There were 223 removals and remittals applications dealt with.

Figure 1: Number of writs received by type of writ

Neligence 1095
Breach 30
Road Injuries 295
Personal Injuries 67
Monies Due 300
Other 48

Judicial Reviews

There were 48 applications for leave to apply for Judicial Review, 18 applications for Judicial Review and 1 ancillary application received during the quarter.

Probate

There were 1,355 grants issued during the quarter in the probate office.

Wardship and Adoption

There were 31 adoption applications received and 22 adoption applications disposed of during the quarter. It took, on average, 26 weeks for an adoption application to progress through the courts.

Matrimonial

There were 625 divorce petitions lodged in the High Court. Of these, 386 petitions were lodged by the wife. In total, 261 decrees nisi and 212 absolutes were issued.

Patients

There were 219 new referrals in the Patients section.

Official Solicitors

There were 799 certificates drafted in the Official Solicitors office.

Sitting days and times

There were 634 sitting days in the High Court during the quarter (Fig 2).

Figure 2: Number of sitting days by business type

Court of Appeal - Criminal 14
Court of Appeal - Civil 30
Appeals 1
Bails 94
Chancery 63
Queens Bench 140
Other Family 39
Children Order 71
Judicial Review 37
Crown 145

Chancery

Table 1: Chancery cases and applications received

Case Mortgages 856
Other land and property 32
Trade and business 2
Trusts 3
Other 90
Total 983
Application Notice of appointment 720
Summons 338
Notice of motion 13
Exparte application 126
Injunction 6
Total 1203

Table 2: Chancery cases setdown

Case Other land and property 6
Trusts 1
Other 34
Total 41

Table 3: Chancery cases and applications disposed

  High Court Judge Master Office disposal Total
Case Mortgages 1 808   809
Other land and property 14 1 1 16
Trade and business 2     2
Trusts 2     2
Other 42 6 7 55
Total 61 815 8 884
Application Notice of appointment 2 78 5 85
Summons 39 295 4 338
Notice of motion 7 5   12
Exparte application 3 114 1 118
Injunction 3     3
Total 54 492 10 556

Table 4: Bankruptcy cases and applications received

Case Petition by another person 413
Petition by debtor 249
Other petition 30
Originating application 32
Other 30
Total 754
Application Notice of motion 2
Ordinary application 275
Certificate of automatic discharge 5
Other 7
Total 289

Table 5: Bankruptcy cases and applications disposed

  High Court Judge Master Office disposal Total
Case Petition by another person   355   355
Petition by debtor   256   256
Other petition   17   17
Originating application 1 29 1 31
Other   42   42
Total 1 699 1 701
Application Notice of motion 2 1   3
Ordinary application   222 3 225
Certificate of automatic discharge     4 4
Other   4   4
Total 2 227 7 236

Table 6: Companies cases and applications received

Case Winding up petition 95
Other petitions 16
Originating summons 18
Other 52
Total 181
Application Notice of motion 2
Ordinary application 10
Other 3
Total 15

Table 7: Companies cases and applications disposed

  High Court Judge Master Total
Case Winding up petition   101 101
Other petitions   10 10
Originating summons 1 15 16
Other 11 28 39
Total 12 154 166
Application Notice of motion   2 2
Ordinary application 2 7 9
Other   1 1
Total 2 10 12

Table 8: Time intervals in weeks

  Chancery Bankruptcy Companies
Case Application Case Application Case Application
Issue to first listing 21 4 4 2 7 3
First listing to disposal 7 7 5 3 4 4
Issue to disposal 30 16 9 5 11 6

Due to rounding, individual time intervals may not equal the overall time taken to progress through the courts

Queen’s Bench

Table 9: Queen's Bench cases and applications received

Writs  and originating summons Negligence 1095
Breach 30
Road injuries 295
Personal injuries 67
Monies due 300
Other 48
Total 1835
Miscellaneous Foreign judgement 90
Other 15
Total 105
Applications Summons/interlocutory applications 542
Remittals and removals 164
Exparte applications 69
Other 135
Total 910

Table 10: Queen's Bench writs and originating summons received by amount claimed

  Unliquated £1,000-2,999 £3,000-14,999 Over £15,000 Total
Negligence 1094   1   1095
Breach 30       30
Road injuries 294     1 295
Personal injuries 67       67
Monies due 36 4 62 198 300
Other 48       48
Total 1569 4 63 199 1835

Table 11: Queen's Bench writs and originating summons setdown by amount claimed

  Unliquated £3,000-14,999 Over £15,000 Total
Negligence 305 1 1 307
Breach 3 1   4
Road injuries 52 1 2 55
Personal injuries 23 1 1 25
Monies due   1 6 7
Other 6   1 7
Total 389 5 11 405

Table 12: Queen's Bench cases and applications disposed

  High Court Judge Master Office disposal Default judgement Total
Writs  and originating summons Negligence 342 138 241 16 737
Breach 2   8 2 12
Road injuries 64 1 56 3 124
Personal injuries 28 1 50 1 80
Monies due 6   16 198 220
Other 23 1 7 5 36
Total 465 141 378 225 1209
Miscellaneous Foreign judgement   1     1
Other 3       3
Total 3 1     4
Applications Summons/interlocutory applications 48 488     536
Remittals and removals   223     223
Exparte applications 2 41     43
Other 51 73     124
Total 101 825     926

Excludes commercial actions

Table 13: Queen's Bench writs and originating summons disposed of by amount

  Unliquated £1,000-2,999 £3,000-14,999 Over £15,000 Total
High Court Judge Negligence 274 1 22 45 342
Breach 1   1   2
Road injuries 6 1 7 50 64
Personal injuries 14 1 5 8 28
Monies due 3   1 2 6
Other 16 1   6 23
Master Negligence 137     1 138
Road injuries       1 1
Personal injuries 1       1
Other 1       1
Default judgement Negligence 15   1   16
Breach 2       2
Road injuries 3       3
Personal injuries 1       1
Monies due 4   72 122 198
Other 3   2   5
Total 481 4 111 235 831

Excludes commercial actions

Table 14: Time Intervals in weeks

  Writs  and originating summons Miscelleanous Applications
Issue to setdown 95 . .
Issue to first listing 109 3 4
First listing to disposal 23 2 7
Issue to disposal 195 4 9

Excludes default judgements and office disposals
Due to rounding and not all writs and originating summons having a set-down date, individual time intervals may not equal the overall time taken to progress through the courts

Table 15: Queen's Bench cases received into commercial list

Negligence 11
Breach 7
Monies due 14
Other 8
Total 40

Table 16: Queen's Bench commercial actions setdown

Negligence 5
Monies due 7
Other 4
Total 16

Table 17: Queen's Bench commercial actions disposed

  High Court Judge Office disposal Total
Negligence 12 1 13
Breach 11 2 13
Personal injuries 1   1
Monies due 22 1 23
Other 9 1 10
Total 55 5 60

Table 18: Commercial Actions Time intervals in weeks

  Commercial actions
Received to Entry to commercial list 73
Entry to commercial list to first listing 12
First listing to disposal 54
Received to disposal 140

Excludes default judgements and office disposals
Due to rounding and not all writs and originating summons having a set-down date

Judicial Reviews

Table 19: Judicial Reviews applications received

Application for leave to apply for judicial review 48
Application for judicial review 18
Ancillary applications 1

Table 20: Judicial Reviews applications disposed

  Granted Withdrawn/Refused/Dismissed Other Total
Application for leave to apply for judicial review 21 14 5 40
Application for judicial review 3 9 3 15

Table 21: Time intervals in weeks

  Application for leave to apply for judicial review Application for judicial review
Issue to first listing 4 6
First listing to disposal 6 21
Issue to disposal 9 24

Due to rounding, individual time intervals may not equal the overall time taken to progress through the courts

Probate

Table 22: Probate grants issued in non-contentious proceedings

  District registry Probate Northern Ireland
By solicitor Personal By solicitor Personal
Letters of adminstration with will annexed   15   20 35
Letters of adminstration with will annexed (DBN)   1 1 1 3
Letters of adminstration 12 56 23 183 274
Grant of probate 11 197 26 801 1035
Letters of adminstration (DBN) 2 2 1 3 8
Total grants issued 25 271 51 1008 1355

Wardship and adoption

Table 23: Adoption cases and applications received

Adoption Order Application 14
Child Abduction Originating Summons 5
Children (Ni) Order Application 1
Freeing Order Application 1
Freeing Order Application 4
Human Fertilisation Originating Summons 1
Interlocutory Application 2
Wardship Originating Summons 3
Total 31

Table 24: Adoption cases and applications disposed

  High Court Judge Master Office disposal Total
Adoption Order Application 13     13
Child Abduction Originating Summons 4   1 5
Freeing Order Application 1     1
Wardship Originating Summons 2 1   3
Total 20 1 1 22

Table 25: Family homes and domestic violence cases and applications received

App For Occup/Non Mol 4
App For Occup/Non Mol 2
Exparte App For Occup/Non Mol 12
F8  FVM 1
OCC FVH 1
Total 20

Table 26: Family homes and domestic violence cases and applications disposed

  High Court Judge Master Total
App For Occup/Non Mol 1   1
App For Occup/Non Mol   1 1
Exparte App For Occup/Non Mol 1 11 12
Article 23 ex-parte non-molestation and occupation 1   1
Total 3 12 15

Table 27: Time intervals in weeks

  Adoption Family Homes And Domestic Violence
Issue to first listing 17 0
First listing to disposal 11 17
Issue to disposal 26 17

Due to rounding, individual time intervals may not equal the overall time taken to progress through the courts

Divorces

Table 28: Divorce petitions received

  Filed by Total
Wife Husband
Divorce Petition 2 years with consent 168 104 272
5 years separation 80 88 168
Adultery 6 5 11
Unreasonable behaviour 82 27 109
Combination of grounds/other 50 15 65
Total 386 239 625

Table 29: Divorce petitions by type of Decree Nisi

  Found by Total
Wife Husband Both
Decree Nisi 2 years with consent 50 29   79
5 years separation 28 28   56
Adultery   2   2
Unreasonable behaviour 48 7   55
Combination of grounds/other 48 15 4 67
Nullity Combination of grounds/other 1     1
Judicial Separation Combination of grounds/other 1     1
Total 176 81 4 261

Table 30: Divorce petitions by number of absolutes issued

  Found by Total
Wife Husband Both
Divorce Petition 2 years with consent 42 24   66
5 years separation 28 29   57
Adultery 8 1   9
Unreasonable behaviour 35 4   39
Combination of grounds/other 23 16 2 41
Total 136 74 2 212

Table 31: Matrimonial applications received

Application Combination of grounds/other 11
Ancillary relief 158
Matrimonial application 144
Other 13
Total 326

Table 32: Matrimonial applications disposed

Application Combination of grounds/other 11
Ancillary relief 158
Matrimonial application 144
Other 13
Total 326

Table 33: Time intervals in weeks for divorce petitions

  Divorce Petition
Issue to first listing 41
First listing to date decree granted 9
Issue to date decree granted 51
Date decree granted to date absolute issued 10

Due to rounding, individual time intervals may not equal the overall time taken to progress through the courts

Table 34: Time intervals in weeks for divorce applications

  Combination of grounds/other Ancillary relief Matrimonial application Other
Issue to first listing 2 9 5 3
First listing to disposal 34 50 10 6
Issue to disposal 36 59 15 8

Due to rounding, individual time intervals may not equal the overall time taken to progress through the courts

Bails

Table 35: Number of bail applications received

Bail application 354
Bail pending appeal to county court 15
Compassionate bail application 40
Miscellaneous application 1
TIM 1
Bail variation 150
Total 561

Table 36: Number of bail applications disposed in chambers

  Granted Other Total
Bail application 5 1 6
Compassionate bail application 1   1
Bail variation 79 22 101
Total 85 23 108

Table 37: Number of bail applications disposed of in court

  Granted Refused Revoke Other Total
Bail application 138 154 2 26 320
Bail pending appeal to county court 2 8   1 11
Compassionate bail application 27 8   1 36
Miscellaneous application 1       1
Bail variation 23 4   2 29
Total 191 174 2 30 397

Patients

Table 38: Patients

New referrals 219
EPA applications received 113
Orders issued 315
Certificates issued 1770
Reviews completed 494
Visits 2

Official Solicitors

Table 39: Official Solicitor Office statistics

Correspondence received 3525
New Referrals 7
OCP cases – OS instructed 48
OS appointed Controller Ad interim  3
Certificates drafted 799
OS appointed Full Controller  6

Sitting days

Table 40: High Court sitting days

Children Order 71
Other Family 39
Appeals 1
Queen's Bench 140
Chancery 63
Bails 94
Crown 146
Judicial Reviews 37
Criminal Appeals 14
Civil Appeals 30
Total 635

Table 41: High Court sitting times

Children Order 172:55:00
Other family 99:05:50
Appeals 06:25:00
QueensBench 362:12:00
Chancery 180:22:00
Bails 131:56:10
Callover 00:00:00
Crown 430:09:00
Judicial reviews 83:18:00
Criminal appeals 31:35:00
Civil appeals 94:32:00
Total 1592:30:00

For further information on this publication please contact:

A Mallon
Statistics and Research
Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service
Laganside House
23-27 Oxford Street
Belfast
BT1 3LA

Tel: 028 9072 8928