23. (1) Subject to section 40 of the Act of 2004 and section 26(1), civil proceedings under this Act shall be heard otherwise than in public.

(2) Where under section 15 a court hears together applications under more than one Act, the court shall, in so far as is practicable, comply with the requirements relating to the hearing of applications under each of those Acts and the other relevant provisions of those Acts shall apply accordingly.

(3) (a) Civil proceedings under this Act before the District Court shall be as informal as is practicable and consistent with the administration of justice.

(b) District Court judges hearing and determining civil proceedings under this Act and barristers and solicitors appearing in those proceedings shall not wear wigs or gowns.

(4) Civil proceedings under this Act before the Circuit Court shall be heard by the Circuit Family Court and accordingly, section 32 and subsections (1) and (2) of section 33 of the Act of 1989 shall apply to those proceedings.

(5) The proceedings to which subsections (3) and (4) of section 33 of the Act of 1989 apply shall be deemed to include proceedings under this Act.

(6) In this section, “Act of 1989” means the Judicial Separation and Family Law Reform Act 1989.