Message from the PFD: Family Listing Guidance update
FamilyFamily CourtFamily DivisionPresident of the Family DivisionGuides
The Family Listing Guidance was first issued by Sir Andrew McFarlane (then the President of the Family Division) in February 2024.
The guidance is designed to assist leadership judges in their oversight of the courts and the welfare of judges; to provide a consistent, standard source of guidance for new and less experienced judges; and to promote consistency, where appropriate, across the family justice system.
Having received helpful feedback on that guidance from judges and magistrates, the Family Executive Team has prepared a new version of the guidance, which I have considered carefully and endorse. I am pleased to publish that revised version of the guidance today.
The guidance will take effect from Monday 31 August 2026. It will continue to be kept under review in consultation with Family Presiders and DFJs.
Sir Stephen Cobb
President of the Family Division and Head of Family Justice