Posts
The cost of transparency
The case of Xanthopoulos v Rakshina [2022] EWFC 30 has hit the headlines because of the eye watering legal costs, and the excoriating judicial criticism of the parties for running them up. But Xanthopoulos is not only interesting because of its extraordinary financial...
Griffiths v Tickle (Part 2): the QC who let the skeleton out of the section 12 closet
Andrew Griffiths, the disgraced former MP who was found by a family court to have raped and abused his wife, wanted his case to remain as secret as possible. No names, no bad publicity. But his own barrister has now been forced to apologise to the court for breaching...
B v P – an appeal against findings where the court did not follow correct procedures about abuse allegations
This is a follow-up post about an appeal in proceedings about child arrangements (contact between two young sisters and their father) heard at Portsmouth Family Court. The appeal was against decisions made further to a fact-finding hearing, which the mother claimed...
FAMILY COURT REPORTING WATCH ROUNDUP
Welcome to the Roundup, where we correct, clarify and comment on media reports of family court cases, explain and comment on published family court judgments and highlight other transparency news MEDIA COVERAGE OF FAMILY COURT MATTERS Many media outlets (including...
The Competition & Markets Authority final report into the children’s social care market
The Competition and Markets Authority has published its final report into the children’s social care market. Martin Barrow, journalist and foster carer, considers its findings and what they mean for the future of children’s homes and foster care. One of the most...
A Comparison between the Old and New Divorce Law
This is a guest post by Teena Dhanota-Jones. Teena is a partner and head of the family law department at Portner Law Limited. She tweets as @DhanotaJones I have set out below the law for divorce and dissolution of civil partnerships started before 31...
Two new cases where parents try to stop adoptions
This post is about two recent judgments with a similar theme - attempts by birth parents to stop an adoption going through, on the legal basis of caselaw interpretation of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 that their circumstances had changed and that the original...
Re K – When a Forced Marriage Protection Order Application Isn’t All It Seems
This is a guest post by Georgia Fineberg. Georgia is an aspiring barrister who has worked for eight years in the women’s voluntary sector, primarily supporting survivors of domestic abuse and the LGBTQI+ community. She tweets as @FinebergGeorgia What Is Forced...
FAMILY COURT REPORTING WATCH ROUNDUP
Welcome to this month’s Roundup, where we correct, clarify and comment on media reports of family court cases, explain and comment on published family court judgments and highlight other transparency news MEDIA COVERAGE OF FAMILY COURT MATTERS The Guardian, Financial...
Protecting the identity of a child whose sibling has been killed by their parents
This was the issue in the landmark human rights case, Re S [2004] UKHL 47, in which Lord Steyn formulated the test in balancing privacy interests under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights with freedom of expression interests under Article 10. Lord...