Editing Vexatious litigation (section)

===== Vexatious litigant orders =====
Section 42 of the [[Senior Courts Act 1981]] provides the [[High Court of Justice|High Court]] with the power to make an order restricting the ability of a person to undertake litigation without leave of the High Court.  The High Court may make a civil proceedings order, a criminal proceedings order or an all proceedings order.

A person subject to a civil proceedings order may not institute or continue civil proceedings in any court (which includes tribunals of a judicial function<ref>http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKUT/AAC/2011/370.html ''IB v Information Commissioner'' [2011] UKUT 370 (AAC) (13 September 2011)</ref>) without leave of the High Court.  A person subject to a criminal proceeding order may not lay information before a justice of the peace or prefer a bill of indictment without leave of the High Court.  A person subject to an all proceedings order is subject to the restriction in both a civil proceedings order and a criminal proceedings order.

Where the High Court makes an order under this section it is published in ''[[The London Gazette]]''.

Such an order can only be made on the application of [[Attorney General for England and Wales|HM Attorney-General]] and where the High Court is satisfied that the person has habitually and persistently and without any reasonable ground—
# instituted vexatious civil proceedings, whether in the High Court or the family court or any inferior court, and whether against the same person or against different persons; or
# made vexatious applications in any civil proceedings, whether in the High Court or the family court or any inferior court, and whether instituted by him or another, or
# instituted vexatious prosecutions (whether against the same person or different persons).

In relation to the civil proceedings, the High Court will only grant leave to initiate or continue the proceedings or application where it is satisfied it is not an abuse of the process of the court in question and that there are reasonable grounds for the proceedings or application.

In relation to criminal proceedings, the High Court will only grant leave for the laying of an information or for an application for leave to prefer a bill of indictment where it is satisfied that the institution of the prosecution is not an abuse of the criminal process and that there are reasonable grounds for the institution of the prosecution by the applicant.