Personal Injuries Assessment Board Act 2003
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Approval of court required for certain assessments. |
35.—(1) This section applies to a relevant claim where— | |
(a) a next friend or the committee of a minor or a person of unsound mind is acting on behalf of the minor or person in respect of the claim, or | ||
(b) the claim relates to a proposed action for damages under section 48 of the Act of 1961, | ||
and the next friend, committee or, as the case may be, the person proposing to bring that action for damages accepts, subject to the assessment being approved under this section, the assessment made under section 20 of the relevant claim. | ||
(2) Where any enactment or rule of court requires any settlement of a relevant claim to which this section applies to be approved by the court then that enactment or rule of court shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the assessment referred to in subsection (1) as if proceedings had been brought in relation to the claim, and the court shall have jurisdiction to approve the assessment accordingly on application in that behalf being made by the next friend, committee or other person referred to in that subsection. | ||
(3) The court shall order that the costs of such an application by the applicant shall be borne by the respondent or respondents. | ||
(4) Unless and until an assessment of a relevant claim to which this section applies has been approved by the court, the assessment, despite section 33 , shall not become binding on the claimant and the respondent or respondents. | ||
(5) In this section “court” means the court which has jurisdiction to make an award of damages of the amount of the assessment the subject of the application for approval or, if 2 or more courts have jurisdiction to make such an award, whichever of them possesses the lesser or the least jurisdiction to make an award of damages in respect of relevant claims. |