The President of the Family Division has set out public-facing Practice Guidance (January 2025) for cases transitioning from the National DOL List (“NDL”) to the Court of Protection. The Practice Guidance is based on the internal guidance used by judiciary and court staff with respect to such cases, which was referred to in the October 2023 NDL national listing protocol guidance.
Importantly, the Practice Guidance now published makes clear that in cases involving 16/17 year olds where a decision is taken that further consideration should be undertaken by the Court of Protection, what should happen is not a transfer, but rather fresh proceedings in the Court of Protection, with the original papers in the NDL proceedings being released into those new proceedings.