Ex-Parte Applications
Paragraph 2.1 of the Financial Services Division Guide
stipulates that:
"All applications should be made on notice, even if that
notice has to be short, unless:
- any rule or PD provides that the application may be made
without notice; or
- there are good reasons for making the application without
notice, for example, because notice would or might defeat the
object of the application".
An orthodox basis for an ex-parte application is that
the application needs to be made very urgently1. The
classic example of an urgent ex-parte application is where
the Applicant becomes aware that a Respondent is planning to
transfer assets so as to make it harder for the Applicant to
enforce a prospective judgment against them. In those
circumstances, giving notice to the Respondent is likely to defeat
the purpose of the application and so the Plaintiff may apply
urgently ex-parte to the Court for a Freezing Order to
prevent the transfer from
