Northern Ireland Court Service Judicial Statistics 2009

Contents

• Introduction
• Part A Court of Appeal
  • Section 1: Criminal appeals
  • Section 2: Civil appeals
  • Section 3: Court sitting times
• Part B High Court
  • Section 1: Chancery
  • Section 2: Bankruptcy
  • Section 3: Companies
  • Section 4: Queen’s Bench Division
  • Section 5: Judicial Reviews
  • Section 6: Probate
  • Section 7: Matrimonial
  • Section 8: Wardship and Adoption
  • Section 9: Care and Protection
  • Section 10: Official Solicitor’s Office
  • Section 11: Masters’ appeals
  • Section 12: High Court Bails
  • Section 13: Court sitting days and court sitting times
• Part C Crown Court
  • Section 1: Cases received and disposed of
  • Section 2: Crown Court waiting times
  • Section 3: Defendants disposed of
  • Section 4: Crown Court sittings and times
• Part D County Court
  • Section 1: Appeals from magistrates’ courts
  • Section 2: Criminal damage cases
  • Section 3: Licences
  • Section 4: Ordinary civil bills
  • Section 5: Equity
  • Section 6: Ejectment
  • Section 7: Small claims
  • Section 8: Divorce cases
  • Section 9: Court sitting days and court sitting times
• Part E Magistrates’ Court
  • Section 1: Business volumes received in the magistrates’ court
  • Section 2: Adult criminal business disposed of
  • Section 3: Youth criminal business disposed of
  • Section 4: Civil & Family business disposed of
  • Section 5: Court sittings and court sitting times
• Part F Children Order
  • Section 1: Applications entered and disposed of
  • Section 2: Reasons for transfer
  • Section 3: Own motion orders and interim orders
  • Section 4: Final Orders Made
  • Section 5: Age and gender of children
  • Section 6: Average time in weeks from lodgement to disposal by venue
  • Section 7: Court sittings and court sitting times
• Part G Miscellaneous
  • Section 1: Enforcement of Judgments Office
  • Section 2: Social Security Commissioners and Child Support Commissioners and Pension Appeals Tribunals
  • Section 3: Coroners Service for Northern Ireland
• Appendix 1: Judge court sitting days

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Introduction

1 Contents

The statistics in this report relate to the criminal, civil and family business conducted by the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) and to the work of some associated offices. This introduction sets out a brief description of the courts and the business that the statistics relate to.

2 The Court Structure

The Court of Appeal: The Court of Appeal sits at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast. The Judges of the Court of Appeal are the Lord Chief Justice (who is the President of the Court of Appeal) and three Lords Justices of Appeal. High Court Judges can sit in the Court of Appeal on criminal causes or matters. The Court of Appeal hears appeals in criminal matters from the Crown Court and civil matters from the High Court (including Judicial Reviews). It also hears appeals on points of law from the county courts, magistrates’ courts and certain appeal tribunals.

The High Court: The High Court sits at the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast. It consists of the Lord Chief Justice (who is the President of the High Court), and three Lords Justices of Appeal along with ten High Court Judges and two temporary High Court Judges. The High Court hears high value and complex civil cases. The High Court comprises three Divisions: the Chancery Division, Queen’s Bench Division and Family Division.

The Crown Court: The Crown Court has exclusive jurisdiction to try offences charged on indictment. Offences tried on indictment are more serious offences. The Lord Chief Justice is President of the Crown Court and the Lords Justices of Appeal, High Court Judges and county court judges all sit in the Crown Court. The Crown Court sits throughout Northern Ireland.

The County Court: In Northern Ireland, there are seven county court divisions with seventeen county court judges and four district judges. Civil cases are commenced in the county court if the value of the case is less than £15,000. However, for claims concerning matrimonial property or compensation for criminal injuries or criminal damage to property, there is no financial limit. The county court also has jurisdiction to hear applications for adoptions and undefended divorces. Applications for intoxicating liquor licences and certificates of registration for clubs are also made to the county court. In addition to its original civil jurisdiction the county court hears appeals under a number of statutory provisions from the magistrates’ courts or from other tribunals.

The Magistrates’ Court: There are twenty-one petty sessions’ districts in Northern Ireland. A magistrates’ court (other than a youth court or family proceedings court) is presided over by a district judge (magistrates’ court) sitting alone. The present complement of district judges (magistrates’ court) is twenty-one. The magistrates’ court hears and determines less serious criminal cases, cases involving youth and some civil and domestic cases including family proceedings.

Coroners’ Court: The Coroners Service is headed by a High Court Judge. There is one Senior Coroner and three Coroners (one of which is a fixed term appointment). They deal with matters relating to deaths that may require further investigation to establish the cause of death.

Social Security Commissioners and Child Support Commissioners: Social Security Commissioners hear appeals from Appeal Tribunals in relation to matters arising under the social security system. Child Support Commissioners hear appeals from Child Support Appeal Tribunals.

The Enforcement of Judgments Office: The Enforcement of Judgments Office (EJO) deals with enforcing money judgments and also enforces other types of civil judgments such as those that are connected with the possession of land and property.

3 Databases

There are a number of databases that are used to carry out the analysis in this report. As these are current databases, the figures here are taken at a cut off point of the 7 June 2010.

In previous years, Judicial Statistics reported on and compared business in the courts between years. In 2005, a new court operations system called the Integrated Court Operations System (ICOS) was introduced in the High Court and county court. Regular downloads of information are available from this new system, and this has resulted in access to more detailed information across all court tiers. The High Court and county court sections have been completed based on ICOS and caution should be taken when comparing figures prior to 2005.

During 2006, ICOS was introduced in the Crown Court and criminal magistrates’ court and these sections have been completed from the information extracted from ICOS. Caution should be taken when comparing figures prior to 2006.

During 2007, the civil and family module of ICOS was completed. This affects the information in the civil and family magistrates’ court section and also in the Children Order section. For further advice on the differences between 2009 figures and previous years, please contact the NICTS.

The Court Structure in Northern Ireland

You can view a PDF document which details the Court Structure in Northern Ireland on the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals website using this link.

Part A Court of Appeal

The Court of Appeal is divided into civil and criminal. It hears appeals from decisions in the High Court and against convictions and sentences passed by the Crown Court and cases stated from other court tiers. It also hears appeals from tribunals and outside bodies.

Key facts during 2009

• 84 criminal appeals were lodged in the Court of Appeal
• 65 criminal appeals were disposed of in the Court of Appeal
• 28 criminal appeals were successful
• 83 civil appeals were set down in the Court of Appeal
• 84 civil appeals were disposed of in the Court of Appeal

Section 1: Criminal appeals

The number of criminal appeals lodged in 2009 increased from 78 in 2008 to 84 in 2009 (Table A.1).

There were 45 appeals lodged against sentence only, 11 were against conviction and 28 were against both conviction and sentence. Of the 84 appeals lodged during 2009, 8 resulted from trials dealing with scheduled offences (Table A.2).

There were 28 successful appeals in 2009 with 7 appeals refused, and 11 appeals abandoned or withdrawn (Table A.3).

Section 2: Civil appeals

There were 83 civil appeals set down in 2009, 13 less than the 2008 total of 96. As in previous years, the main source of civil appeals was the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court with 51 cases set down. A total of 84 appeals were disposed of during the year (Table A.4).

Section 3: Court sitting times

The number of court sitting days spent on criminal appeals (by majority type of work) decreased from 62 days in 2008 to 53 days in 2009. A total of 106 hours were spent in court hearing criminal appeals in 2009 compared with 105 court hours in 2008. There were 114 court sitting days (by majority type of work) spent on civil appeals during 2009 compared with 89 in 2008. A total of 203 hours were spent in court hearing civil appeals in 2009 compared with 159 court hours during 2008 (Figure A.2 & Table B.40).

Part B High Court

The High Court is a civil court which consists of the Chancery Division, Queen’s Bench Division and the Family Division.

Key facts during 2009

• 3,906 mortgage applications were entered in Chancery
• 3,412 bankruptcy proceedings were entered
• 2,961 bankruptcy proceedings were disposed of
• 404 companies proceedings were disposed of
• 7,188 writs and originating summonses were received
• 786 judgments by default were entered
• 2,746 divorce petitions were filed in the High Court
• 2,195 applications for bail were received

Section 1: Chancery

Table B.1 shows that during 2009, a total of 4,567 Chancery writs and originating summonses were issued. Mortgage suits continue to account for the majority (86%) of writs and originating summonses issued. The number of mortgages received has increased by 8% during 2009 (3,630 in 2008 compared with 3,906 in 2009).

There were 3,928 cases and applications disposed of in 2009. Mortgages accounted for the majority of disposals with 2,666 cases disposed of (Table B.2).

Section 2: Bankruptcy

There were 3,412 bankruptcy proceedings issued in 2009. These included 1,928 bankruptcy petitions, 69% of which were creditor petitions (Petition by another person). Other bankruptcy proceedings included 276 originating applications and 1,043 ordinary applications (Table B.3).

The Master dealt with a total of 2,952 bankruptcy proceedings. The main area of work disposed of by the Master was bankruptcy petitions, a total of 1,965 (Table B.4).

Section 3: Companies

Table B.5 and B.6 show the companies’ proceedings entered and disposed of for 2009. There were 586 companies’ proceedings received and 404 disposed of.

Table B.7 shows the time interval in weeks for cases and applications in the Chancery Division for the three business areas. A chancery case takes on average 30 weeks from date of issue to date of disposal compared with 11 weeks for a bankruptcy case and 16 weeks for a companies’ case.

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

Section 4: Queen’s Bench Division

There were 11,164 Queen’s Bench cases and applications received during 2009, 64% of these were made up of writs and originating summonses. There has been a 21% increase in the number of writs received from 5,956 in 2008 to 7,188 in 2009 (Table B.8).

Table B.9 shows the breakdown of the amount claimed in writs and originating summonses in 2009.

There were 1,800 Queen’s Bench writs (excluding commercial actions) set down for trial during 2009 (Table B.10).

There were 1,665 writs dealt with in court and 1,384 writs disposed of as office disposals. Actions set down as negligence constituted 40% of writs disposed of (Table B.11).

Excludes commercial actions. [1] In Queens Bench a new practice direction came into effect 1/4/08 which set out new procedures for setting down an action for trial. An exercise was carried out to dispose of old cases which were withdrawn or settled out of court.

Of the 2,451 writs disposed of, 38% were for over £15,000 (Table B.12).

Excludes commercial actions.

Tables B.13 and B.14 show the number of commercial actions set down and disposed of. During 2009, 62 actions were entered in the commercial list. In total, 118 cases were disposed of with 107 of these disposed of by a High Court Judge.

In 2009, the average length of time for a writ from first listing to disposal was 20 weeks (Table B.15).

Excludes default judgements and office disposals. Due to rounding and not all writs and originating summonses having a set-down date, individual time intervals may not equal the overall time taken to progress through the courts. [2] The miscellaneous category refers to 25 cases, of which only 14 were set down.

Section 5: Judicial Reviews

Tables B.16 to B.18 are in relation to Judicial Reviews. There were 76 applications for leave to apply for Judicial Review granted (34%). Of the 100 applications for Judicial Review that were disposed in 2009, 19% were granted.

In 2009, the average length of time from issue to disposal of applications for Judicial Review was 42 weeks (Table B.18).

Due to rounding and not all applications having a court date, individual time intervals may not equal the overall time taken to progress through the courts.

Section 6: Probate

The number of grants of probate issued during 2009 decreased by 5% from 6,484 in 2008 to 6,187 in 2009 (Table B.19).

Section 7: Matrimonial

The number of divorce petitions filed decreased by 10%, from 3,055 in 2008 to 2,746 in 2009 (Table B.20).

There were 948 decrees nisi granted in the High Court during 2009, a decrease of 20% on the 1,186 granted during 2008. The most common ground for dissolution continued to be separation (2 years with consent) accounting for 34% of all cases (Table B.21).

During 2009, there were 1,308 matrimonial applications received. In total, 39% of applications were for ancillary relief (Table B.23).

Of the 1,123 matrimonial applications disposed of during 2009, 495 (44%) were for ancillary relief (Table B.24).

The average time from the issue of a petition to the date the decree was granted was 45 weeks (Table B.25).

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

During 2009, the average time from issue to disposal of a matrimonial application was 47 weeks. Applications for ancillary relief took on average 56 weeks from date of issue to date of disposal (Table B.26).

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

Section 8: Wardship and Adoption

During 2009, adoption order applications accounted for 52% of the total applications received (Table B.27).

Of the cases disposed, 95% were disposed of by a High Court Judge. The majority of applications disposed of (63%) were adoption order applications (Table B.28).

Ex-parte applications for occupation/non-molestation orders accounted for 62% of the total number of Family Homes and Domestic Violence cases and applications received (Table B.29).

The Master disposed of 76% of the total number of Family Homes and Domestic Violence cases and applications during 2009. Table B.30 shows that 59% of all cases were ex-parte.

Table B.31 shows the average time in weeks for adoption and Family Homes and Domestic Violence cases and applications during 2009. It took on average 31 weeks for an adoption case from date of issue to date of disposal.

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

Section 9: Care and Protection

There were 794 patients referred to the Office of Care and Protection in 2009 for investigation under the Mental Health Order, representing a 12% decrease on the 2008 total of 907 patients. The total live caseload for 2009 was 1,493 (Table B.32).

Section 10: Official Solicitor’s Office

Tables B.33 and B.34 demonstrate the caseload of the Official Solicitor’s Office. There were 550 live patient cases and 227 live minors’ cases in 2009.

Live case load only include those cases where specific actions are actively being taken to progress matters. These cases are recorded as ‘disposed of’ when the said actions have come to an end. A minor’s case is closed when he/she reaches the age of 18 yrs.

Section 11: Masters’ appeals

There were 56 Masters’ appeals received and 51 Masters’ appeals disposed of in 2009 (Tables B.35 and B.36).

Section 12: High Court Bails

There were 2,195 applications for bail in the High Court during 2009. Of the 1,656 applications disposed in court, 47% were granted (Tables B.37 and B.39).

Section 13: Court sitting days and court sitting times

High Court Judges sat on a total of 2,403 court sitting days, a decrease of 6% on the 2,557 days sat during 2008. By majority type of work, High Court Judges sat for a total 598 days hearing Queen’s Bench business and 439 in the Crown Court (Table B.40).

Days are classified on the basis of the majority business undertaken. Total court sitting time is classified on the basis of all court sitting time spent on each business area. A court sitting day is counted as any day where the judiciary sit in court. It does not include time in chambers or days where the judiciary are sitting in chambers.

Part C Crown Court

The Crown Court deals with all cases committed for trial by magistrates’ courts, cases for trial are usually heard before a judge and jury.

Key facts during 2009

• 1,329 Crown Court cases were received
• 1,236 Crown Court cases were disposed of
• There were a total of 1,556 defendants disposed of
• The average time from committal to start of trial was 118 days (17 weeks)

Section 1: Cases received and disposed of

Tables C.1 show the number of cases received in 2009. There were 1,329 cases received in 2009 compared with 1,288 in 2008, an increase of 3%. In 2009, there were 1,236 cases disposed of (Table C.2), a 10% decrease from the 1,371 in 2008.

[1] Refers to cases to be tried under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007.

[1] Refers to cases tried under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007.

[1] Refers to defendants tried under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007.

There were a total of 1,556 defendants disposed of during 2009. This was a decrease of 10% when compared with the 1,733 defendants disposed of in 2008 (Table C.4).

[1] Refers to defendants tried under the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007.

Section 2: Crown Court waiting times

The average waiting time between committal to start of trial was 118 days (Table C.5).

Excludes defendants who had a bench warrant or deferred sentence.

Section 3: Defendants disposed of

The majority of defendants were disposed of by a county court judge (95%) (Table C.6).

In total, 40% of defendants made a plea of guilty on all charges and 13% were acquitted on all charges (Table C.8).

Section 4: Crown Court sittings and times

There were 2,457 sittings in the Crown Court in 2009. The total time spent on Crown Court business has increased by 4% from 2008.

Crown Court sittings refer to a sitting where any Crown Court business is heard. Total Crown time includes all time spent on Crown business. High Court Judges & county court judges sit on Crown business.

Part D County Court

The county court deals with civil matters including all monetary claims up to £15,000. In Northern Ireland there are seven County Court Divisions, however the court may sit in more than one venue within the Division.

Key facts during 2009

• 2,864 appeals were disposed of
• 38 criminal damage cases were received
• 7,331 ordinary civil bills had Notice of Intention to Defend
• 11,101 ordinary civil bills were disposed of
• 13,839 small claims were received
• 12,167 small claims were disposed of
• 1,315 decrees nisi were granted

Section 1: Appeals from magistrates’ courts

There were a total of 3,133 appeals received during 2009 (Table D.1) and 2,864 appeals were disposed of in the county court during 2009 (Table D.2). County Court Appeals were recorded on ICOS from 2007 and caution should be taken when comparing with previous years.

Tables D.3 to D.5 show the result of appeals against conviction and sentence, sentence only and civil appeals. The vast majority of appeals (98%) dealt with in court were criminal cases, and 2% were civil cases. Of the criminal appeals, 70% were against sentence only and 30% were against conviction and sentence.

Section 2: Criminal damage cases

There were 38 criminal damage cases received during 2009. Belfast accounted for 55% of all cases received. Table D.7 shows that there were 37 criminal damage cases disposed of in 2009.

Excludes default judgements, non-court disposals, and office disposals.

Section 3: Licences

There were 285 licence applications received in the county court in 2009 and 278 licence applications disposed of.

Section 4: Ordinary civil bills

There were 14,669 ordinary civil bills received in 2009. There were also 5,382 applications received during the same period. Belfast received 65% of ordinary civil bills compared with 4% in Armagh and South Down.

The number of ordinary civil bills where Notices of Intention to Defend were received rose from 6,740 in 2008 to 7,331 in 2009, representing a 9% increase in business (Table D.11).

The number of cases disposed of increased by 12%, from 9,956 cases in 2008 compared with 11,101 in 2009. Of the ordinary civil bills disposed of, 25% were default judgements. A further 20% were disposed of at district judge level compared with 30% disposed of at county court judge level.

CCJ and DJ split based on the judicial level assigned to the final sitting date, ie CCJ will include DJ sitting as a DCCJ.

Table D.13 shows the amount awarded for ordinary civil bills during 2009. Just under a quarter of civil bills (24%) were awarded between £1000-2999.

Excludes cases that were adjourned generally, withdrawn, dismissed, default judgements or had office disposals.

On average, it took 47 weeks from date of issue to date of disposal for civil bills to progress through the county court (Table D.14).

Excludes default judgements, non-court disposals, office disposals and cases dealt with by the Civil Processing Centre.

Excludes default judgements, non-court disposals, office disposals and cases dealt with by the Civil Processing Centre.

Section 5: Equity

There were 221 equity cases and 123 equity applications received during 2009.

Table D.17 shows that there were 217 equity cases disposed of in 2009. The majority of equity cases were disposed of in court (88%).

Table D.18 shows the time intervals for equity cases and applications from date of issue to date of disposal for each county court division. On average, for cases disposed of during 2009, it took 67 weeks for an equity case to progress through the county courts.

Excludes default judgements, non-court disposals, and office disposals.

Section 6: Ejectment

In total, there were 1,026 ejectment cases received during 2009, with 45% received in Belfast (Table D.19).

During the year, 793 ejectment cases were disposed of in the county court. The majority of ejectment cases were disposed of in court (97%) (Table D.20).

Table D.21 shows the average time in weeks for ejectment cases to progress through the courts during 2009. On average, it took 15 weeks for a case from date of issue to date of disposal.

Excludes default judgements, non-court disposals, and office disposals.

Section 7: Small claims

Table D.22 shows that the number of small claims received was 13,839 cases in 2009, an increase from 13,409 cases in 2008. There were 391 applications received in small claims during 2009 compared with 272 in 2008.

In total, 12,167 small claims cases were disposed of in 2009. This was an increase of 14% on the 10,649 cases disposed of during 2008 (Table D.24).

Table D.25 shows that during 2009, it took on average 21 weeks for a small claims case to progress from date of issue to date of disposal.

Excludes default judgements, non-court disposals, office disposals and cases dealt with by the Civil Processing Centre.

Section 8: Divorce cases

There were 1,315 decrees nisi granted in undefended divorce cases in the county court in 2009 (Table D.26). The number of decrees nisi granted has decreased by 20% from 1,651 in 2008.

Tables D.28 and D.29 show the number of matrimonial applications received and disposed of during 2009.

County court divorce petitions took on average 35 weeks from date of issue to the date decree nisi granted. Divorce applications took on average 48 weeks to progress through the county courts during 2009.

Section 9: Court sitting days and court sitting times

Table D.32 shows that there were 3,954 court sitting days in 2009.

A court sitting day is counted as any day where the judiciary sit in court. It does not include time in chambers or days where the judiciary are sitting in chambers.

Part E Magistrates’ Court

The magistrates’ court hears and determines less serious criminal cases, cases involving youth and some civil and domestic cases including family proceedings.

Key facts during 2009

• 52,990 adult criminal defendants were disposed of
• 3,129 youth criminal defendants were disposed of
• 5,962 civil applications were disposed of
• The average waiting time between 1^st hearing and disposal for adult criminal cases was 7 weeks
• The average waiting time between 1^st hearing and finding for youth criminal cases was 8 weeks

With effect from 30 August 2005 the jurisdiction of the youth court was extended to include 17 year olds.

Section 1: Business volumes received in the magistrates’ court

In 2009, there were 53,815 adult defendants received. In the youth court, there were 3,067 defendants received (Table E.1).

Section 2: Adult criminal business disposed of

There were 52,990 defendants disposed of in 2009. Belfast accounted for 27% of the business; in contrast, Craigavon division disposed of 10% of adult defendants (Table E.2).

Due to rounding, percentages may not add up to 100%.

Table E.3 shows the types of charges disposed of in 2009. In total, there were 108,496 charges disposed of.

Figures are based on the number of charges disposed. The class on ICOS is based on the police classification. Major & minor motoring charges have been counted in either summary, indictable, indictable triable summarily or hybrid.

Table E.4 shows the outcomes of defendants disposed of in 2009. 37% of defendants pleaded guilty on all charges.

Figures are based on the number of final orders.

Table E.5 shows there were 141,792 final orders granted in the magistrates’ adult court in 2009.

Figures are based on the number of final orders.

The average waiting time in Northern Ireland for defendants disposed of in 2009 between the date of summons and the date of first hearing was 8 weeks. The waiting time between the date of first hearing and disposal averaged 7 weeks (Table E.6).

Bench warrants, adjourned generally and deferred sentences are excluded.

Section 3: Youth criminal business disposed of

In 2009, there were 3,129 youth defendants disposed of with 31% in Belfast and 7% in Armagh and South Down (Table E.7).

Due to rounding, percentages may not add up to 100%.

Table E.8 shows the types of charges disposed of in 2009 for youth defendants. In total, there were 7,096 charges disposed of in 2009.

Figures are based on the number of charges disposed.

The class on ICOS is based on the police classification. Major & minor motoring charges have been counted in either summary, indictable, indictable triable summarily or hybrid.

Figures are based on the number of defendants disposed.

Table E.10 shows there were 8,418 final orders granted in the magistrates’ youth court in 2009.

Figures are based on the number of final orders.

The average waiting time in Northern Ireland for youth defendants between the dates of summons to the date of first hearing in 2009 was 6 weeks. The average waiting time between the date of first hearing and finding was 8 weeks. The average waiting time from date of first hearing to date of disposal was 12 weeks (Table E.11).

Bench warrants, adjourned generally, deferred sentences and youth monitored cases are excluded.

Section 4: Civil & Family business disposed of

There were 5,962 applications disposed of during 2009 (Table E.12).

The average waiting time for Northern Ireland in the civil and family magistrates’ court for the date of issue to first hearing was 2 weeks. The average waiting time from the date of first hearing to disposal was 6 weeks (Table E.13).

Section 5: Court sittings and court sitting times

Tables E.15 and E.16 show the number of scheduled, additional and special court sittings and court sitting times in the magistrates’ court in 2009. There were 4,780 scheduled and additional court sittings in the magistrates’ court and the average court sitting time was 3hrs 35mins. The average court sitting time for special courts was 41 minutes.

A court sitting day is counted as any day where the judiciary sit in court. It does not include time in chambers or days where the judiciary are sitting in chambers.

A court sitting day is counted as any day where the judiciary sit in court. It does not include time in chambers or days where the judiciary are sitting in chambers.

Part F Children Order

Children Order business is conducted before the family proceedings courts, the family care centres and the High Court.

Key facts during 2009

• 4,452 total applications were lodged
• 3,606 total applications were disposed of
• 4,698 children were involved
• 8,970 orders were made
• 1,783 Children Order court sitting days with an average time of 2hrs 31mins

Section 1: Applications entered and disposed of

Tables F.1 and F.2 show that a total of 4,452 applications were received in designated courts in 2009. The majority of business (93%) was lodged in family proceedings courts, with 4% lodged in the High Court and 4% lodged in family care centres. Of the 3,606 applications disposed of, the High Court accounted for 5% of all business dealt with, care centres accounted for 7% and family proceedings / magistrates’ court accounted for 87%.

[1]Public law = care, supervision, child assessment, education supervision, emergency protection orders, extensions, contact with children in care, secure accommodation. [2]Private law = residence, contact, specific issues, prohibited steps, parental responsibility, financial contribution, guardianship, family assistance, non-molestation and occupation orders.

[1]Public law = care, supervision, child assessment, education supervision, emergency protection orders, extensions, contact with children in care, secure accommodation. [2] Private law = residence, contact, specific issues, prohibited steps, parental responsibility, financial contribution, guardianship, family assistance, non-molestation and occupation orders.

Section 2: Reasons for transfer

Complexity accounted for 56% of the reasons quoted for the transfer of cases between courts (Tables F.3a and F.3b).

Where a court tier / venue is omitted, this indicates a nil return for the period to date. There may be more than one reason for each case.

Where a court tier / venue is omitted, this indicates a nil return for the period to date. There may be more than one reason for each case. From April 2009 data collection methods for transfers changed to incorporate a wider range of reasons.

Section 3: Own motion orders and interim orders

Contact permission orders accounted for 27% and care orders accounted for 26% of own motion orders in 2009 (Table F.4).

These figures may also include some interim orders. Own motion orders are as recorded on ICOS.

Out of the 15,055 interim orders made during 2009, 37% were interim care orders and 48% were interim/short term contact permission orders (Table F.5)

Section 4: Final Orders Made

Table F.6 show the number of final orders made in 2009.

Section 5: Age and gender of children

There were a total of 4,698 children involved in Children Order cases during 2009. In total, 36% of these were aged 0-4 and 29% aged 5-8 (Table F.7).

Section 6: Average time in weeks from lodgement to disposal by venue

The average disposal times for private law cases in 2009 was 43 weeks in the High Court, 44 weeks in the family care centres and 24 weeks in the family proceedings courts. Disposal times of cases in the High Court and the family care centres may include the time spent at the lower courts if cases were transferred (Table F.8).

The time shown will include the time taken at the first court tier.

Section 7: Court sittings and court sitting times

Table F.9 shows the number of sittings where any Children Order business was heard in court. During 2009, the family proceedings courts sat for over 2,651 hours, 59% of the total court sitting time for Children Order.

A court sitting is counted as any day where the judiciary sit in court. It does not include time in chambers or days where the judiciary are sitting in chambers. Children Order sittings refer to a sitting where any Children Order business is heard. Total Children Order time includes all time spent on Children Order business. High Court Judges, county court judges and district judges (magistrates’ court) sit on Children Order business.

Part G Miscellaneous

This section covers the caseload from Enforcement of Judgments Office (EJO), Social Security Commissioners and Child Support Commissioners and Coroners Service for Northern Ireland.

Key facts during 2009

• 16,700 notices of intention to enforce were lodged
• 8,964 applications for enforcement were accepted
• 261 applications for leave to appeal to the Commissioners were lodged and 188 were cleared
• 99 appeals to the Commissioners were lodged and 96 were cleared
• 186 inquests were held relating to the Coroners Service for Northern Ireland

Figure G.1: Social Security Commissioners – Applications and Appeals Lodged 2005-2009

Section 1: Enforcement of Judgments Office

Since the early 1970s, the task of enforcing civil judgments in Northern Ireland has been simplified by the creation of the Enforcement of Judgments Office (EJO), which operates under the supervision of the Master (Enforcement of Judgments), assisted by the Chief Enforcement Officer. In 2009, 16,700 notices of intention to enforce were lodged and 8,964 applications for enforcement were accepted (Table G.1).

Table G.2 shows the ‘Debt Ratio’ which is the amount of debt recovered for every £1 paid in enforcement fees.

A possession file is deemed ‘completed’ when –

• An eviction takes place.
• The creditor withdraws their application.
• An official arrangement between the creditor and debtor is made (these cases may be re-activated if the arrangement breaks down).

Table G.3 shows that during the year, 897 cases were completed.

Section 2: Social Security Commissioners and Child Support Commissioners and Pension Appeals Tribunals

There were 261 applications for leave to appeal to the Social Security Commissioners lodged during 2009, 94 more than the 167 lodged during 2008. There were 188 applications for leave cleared in 2009 compared with 162 cleared during 2008 (Table G.4).

The number of appeals to the Commissioners lodged increased by 50% from 66 in 2008 to 99 in 2009. In total, 96 were cleared in 2009 compared with 48 in 2008 (Table G.5).

Table G.6 shows the number of applications to the Commissioners for leave to appeal to the Court of Appeal in 2009.

Tables G.7 to G.13 show the caseload of Pensions Appeal Tribunals in 2009. 71 entitlement appeals and 129 assessment appeals were dealt with in 2009. The majority of assessment appeals (57%) were dealt with after a hearing.