The Anonymous Widower

The Most Powerful Men and Women in England

C, my late wife was a barrister, who dealt mostly with family matters.

Some of the posts about Pfizer’s legal action, worried about the company acting outside of the law.

One day, C came home and told me about the High Court tipstaffs. I think she had been doing a case in the Principal Registry of the Family Division, which used to be in Somerset House. Surely, there is no better place for a court.

I can’t remember the exact details of the case, as she never told me But I suspect it was to do with a father hiding the children and refusing to tell anybody, where they were, as she had quite a few cases where this happened. In this case, because one of  the highest courts in the land had been disobeyed, the case was handed over to the tipstaff. C said that their powers are unprecedented and they only answer to the highest judges, like the Lord Chief Justice.  Even Prime Ministers have to obey the tipstaff. Read about them in Wikipedia.

This paragraph details their powers.

The High Court Tipstaff may appoint three assistants and can call on any constable, bailiff or member of the public to assist in carrying out their duties and their jurisdiction extends throughout England & Wales. They are authorised to force entry if necessary and will have a police officer present to prevent breach of the peace. The relevant territorial police force are informed of arrests.

Sometimes a local bailiff or police will detain a person in custody until the Tipstaff arrives to collect him and take him to court or prison. Pentonville Prison (for civil offenders) is obliged to take into custody‚ no matter the situation‚ any people taken there by the Tipstaff.

 The article also details how the tipstaff can act in Family cases.

 The majority of their work involves taking children into custody (ie a place of safety)‚ including cases of child abduction abroad.

In child abduction cases, there may be a ‘seek and locate’ order backed by a bench warrant ordering any person with knowledge of the child to give that information to the Tipstaff or his deputy or assistants. Related orders may require the alleged abductor to hand his passport and other travel documents to the Tipstaff, and order the Tipstaff to take the child and deliver him/her to a designated place. There may also be a ‘port alert’ executed by the Tipstaff, to help prevent the child being taken abroad.

In the case of children who have been declared a ward of court i.e. cases where the court is acting in loco parentis the Tipstaff has a role in ensuring that those children are delivered to the locations specified by the court.

You would imagine that a tipstaff would be a large, powerfully-built man with either sevice or police training. But the tipstaff that C met was a small, slight, extremely polite and persuasive lady of Asian origin. Remember though that she can order anyone to help her and that she has almost absolute power in the matter she is dealing with. C said that she only has to answer to the highest judges.

July 11, 2010 - Posted by AnonW | World | Law