Certification of prior overarching obligations certification (Form 4AB)

Section 41 of the Civil Procedure Act 2010 (Vic) requires each party to personally certify that they have read and understood the overarching obligations and the paramount duty, filed with the party's first substantive document (s 41(1), (2)). Section 41(5) creates an exception for a party represented by a legal practitioner who is or has been involved in more than one civil proceeding and has personally made the certification in other civil proceedings in the same jurisdiction within the period set by the rules: instead, the party's lawyer certifies those facts. Rule 4.09.1 of the Magistrates' Court General Civil Procedure Rules 2020 sets the period at 2 years before the date of the lawyer's certification and requires the lawyer's certification to be in Form 4AB.

When you need it

• You are a lawyer acting for a party who is a repeat litigant in the Magistrates' Court and who has personally signed an overarching obligations certification (Form 4A) in other civil proceedings in the court within the last 2 years.
• Use it in place of a new Form 4A from the party, filed with the party's first substantive document.
• Not available to a self-represented party: the exception applies only to a party represented by a legal practitioner (s 41(5)).

1. 1

   Fill in the heading

   Give the court number, venue, plaintiff and defendant and their addresses, the date of the document, who it is filed on behalf of, and your name, code, address, phone and reference.

2. 2

   Name the practitioner and the party

   Insert the name of the legal practitioner giving the certification and the name of the party.

3. 3

   Check the facts before you certify

   The form certifies that the party is or has been involved in more than one civil proceeding and personally made the overarching obligations certification in other civil proceedings in the court within 2 years before the date of the certification.

4. 4

   Date and sign

   The legal practitioner representing the party signs and dates it.

• File it with the party's first substantive document in the proceeding, such as the complaint, notice of defence or counterclaim (s 41(2)(a)). The court's form page says to file it with your first document in the case.
• Filing can be at the office of the court at the proper venue or electronically (r 4.10.1).
• It does not replace the proper basis certification: the lawyer still files Form 4B under section 42.

• Keep a record of the earlier proceedings and the dates of the party's own certifications, so the 2-year window can be shown if questioned.
• If a document has to be filed urgently, it can be filed without the certification, which must then be filed as soon as practicable (s 44).
• The court cannot refuse a filing merely because a certification is missing, but it can take the failure into account, including on costs (ss 45, 46).