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The most senior judge in the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, said there had been confusion in the previous decision.

She believes the assisted dying bill is "incredibly narrow" and requires "more scrutiny" around the capacity of the Family Division of the High Court to oversee applications.

In the summary, Judge McFarlane, president of the High Court's Family Division, said the issue arose against the background of "ongoing contested financial remedy proceedings".

Sir Andrew - who is president of the family division - said family courts were the "hidden relative" in the justice system, though its judges operated "with a greater volume of work" than the Civil Court, or the Crown Court, hearing high level criminal cases.

Sir Andrew McFarlane, president of the High Court's Family Division, described the move as a "huge step to increase transparency and improve public confidence and understanding of the family justice system".