Posts
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...
Family Justice Council Conference & Bridget Lindley Memorial Lecture : ‘Private Law – a proportionate and safe approach’
Wednesday 6 April 2022 9.30am – 4.30pm In Doubletree by Hilton, Bristol The Family Justice Council will be holding its annual interdisciplinary conference in Bristol on Wednesday 6 April 2022. This year’s topic will be ‘Private Law –...
A Crisis in allocating social work ‘Guardians’ to vulnerable children? And other news from the last Cafcass Open Board meeting
Cafcass have led for some time in opening certain board meetings to stakeholders and pre registered members of the public, and consistently lodging minutes on their website albeit a few months later. They now lodge not just the agenda but also the CEO report to every...