Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Rules definition

What does Rules mean? Rules describes the written provisions that govern how a pension scheme operates—especially occupational pension schemes—usually contained in, or annexed to, the trust deed (trust deed and rules). Legislation refers to these as scheme rules (for example, Pensions Act 1995 and Pensions Act 2004 in the UK, and the Pensions Act 1990 in Ireland). Scheme rules set out eligibility, benefit structure (defined benefit or defined contribution), contributions, service and accrual, retirement options and ages, revaluation/indexation, ill‑health and death benefits, transfers in and out, leaver provisions, forfeiture, augmentation, priority on winding‑up, discretions and decision‑making, and the scheme’s amendment and termination powers. They also...

Evidence in the Court of Protection (England and Wales): Witness Statements, Summaries, Admissibility, Section 49 Reports and Expert Evidence under COPR 2017, PDs 14A/15A and MCA 2005

Published by a LexisNexis Private Client expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note sets out a concise overview of the Rules governing witness and expert evidence in Court of Protection (CoP) proceedings. It cross-refers to Parts 14 and 15 of the Court of Protection Rules 2017 (COPR 2017), as well as to Practice Direction 14A: Written evidence (PD 14A) and Practice Direction 15A: Expert evidence (PD 15A) to the COPR.

Witness evidence

Under COPR 2017, r 14.3(1), the default position is that any fact requiring proof through a witness must be established:

at a Final hearing, by the witness’s oral testimony, or
at any other hearing, or where there is no hearing, by the witness’s written evidence.

When a witness is called to give oral evidence at a final hearing, their witness statement will stand as their Evidence in chief unless the court orders otherwise.

If the court considers there is good reason not to limit the witness’s evidence to the statement, it may allow the witness to (a) amplify their statement and (b) address any new issues that have arisen since it was prepared...

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Adam Carvalho

Adam Carvalho has more than 15 years' experience as a contentious Private Client lawyer. Most recently, he was a Legal Director in the Contentious Trusts and Probate Team at Myerson, where he worked on complex and high-value contentious trust and probate matters.Adam trained, qualified and worked as a senior associate and partner in a central London firm in the Tier 1 nationally for Contentious Trust and Probate work.Adam has considerable experience of ultra-high value litigation, cross-jurisdictional matters and disputes in non-UK courts. Adam has litigated in the Supreme Court, Court of Appeal, and advised in relation to complex matters in courts from Bermuda to New Zealand. Adam is known for his constructive, pragmatic advice, his down to earth approach, and his technical knowledge. Adam is a firm believer in focusing on the main issues and providing sound and accessible advice....

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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