Recorder issued with formal advice over delayed court order

A recorder has been issued with formal advice for misconduct over a delayed court order.

Recorder Yvette Genn was found to have failed to produce a court order in a timely manner. She handed down judgment in family proceedings on 16 November 2022 but the litigant in person in the case, who made the complaint to the Judicial Complaints Investigation Office, said he did not receive the court order until 25 March 2023.

The litigant in person alleged the late court order caused a delay to the Cafcass (Children and family court advisory and support service) report which was not produced until summer 2023.

The JCIO said Genn ‘accepted responsibility for the delay but felt that the options to address misconduct via pastoral support or informal advice were not explored’.

The judge said, in mitigation, the draft order she had been sent contained ‘a number of inaccuracies which needed time to be amended’.

A JCIO spokesperson said: ‘In mitigation…she further added that at that time, she had been appointed as Tribunal Judge of the First Tier Tribunal which was a new jurisdiction that she found unexpectedly time consuming. Recorder Genn explained that her personal circumstances were also a significant contributory factor.’

Following an investigation, Genn’s delay in producing the court order was found to be a breach of the standards of conduct expected of judicial office holders ‘which was serious enough to require a disciplinary sanction’.

The JCIO said: ‘Having considered the evidence and the mitigation offered by Recorder Genn, the lady chief justice and lord chancellor agreed with the nominated judge’s recommendation to issue Recorder Genn with formal advice.’