§ 73. Mr. Hutchinsonasked the Attorney-General when it is proposed to introduce the procedural reforms recommended by Part II of the Second Interim Report of the Denning Committee.
§ The Attorney-GeneralMy noble Friend the Lord Chancellor is in consultation with the President of the Probate Divorce and Admiralty Division about the numerous and far-reaching procedural changes advocated in Part II of the Second Interim Report of the Denning Committee, the majority of which have already been agreed upon. A number of the changes advocated have already been effected by administrative action. The alteration of the Matrimonial Causes Rules which will be required is a fairly formidable task with which much progress has already been made. It is, however, very desirable that the new Code of Rules should take account of the further procedural changes recommended in the Final Report of the Denning Committee which has only just been issued. I cannot, therefore, indicate now the date on which the new rules will be in operation.
§ Mr. Sydney SilvermanCan my right hon. and learned Friend tell the House whether action on these recommendations has been delayed in any way by the 1965 appointment by the President of the Probate Divorce and Admiralty Division of a committee to consider them? Will he tell us who will form that committee, and whether their recommendations will be made available to the public?
§ The Attorney-GeneralI am not aware that any delay has been occasioned in the way my hon. Friend suggests. My noble Friend the Lord Chancellor is, of course, in consultation with the President of the Probate Divorce and Admiralty Division, who is inevitably and necessarily and properly involved in the consideration of these matters. I hope that a final decision on all the points, many of which, as I say, have already been agreed, will not long be delayed.