Posts
Secret babies – non-notification of dads and extended families
Last year, we wrote a post about non-notification of fathers about family court applications where there was a history of violence or abuse, in particular where a child had been conceived of rape (See : When should I apply for permission not to notify a father about a...
“In the battle between the parents both children risk being run over by the tanks”
This judgment, startlingly, comprises 500 paragraphs, although with a helpful List of Contents added by HHJ Dancey, at Bournemouth Family Court. The case is called JD and another v VB and others [2020] EWFC 16. The judge’s opening paragraphs [1-4] grab attention: “In...
How technology almost thwarted the family courts again (Z (A Child: committal proceeding))
Z (A Child: committal proceeding) [2020] EWFC B5 (24 January 2020) concerned committal proceedings (i.e. proceedings about whether a party should be sent to prison) within a broader private law dispute between two parents over their child, ‘Z’. Father...
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 Most media outlets and...
The Sheikh Story
There’s been an enormous amount of publicity about the case of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his sixth wife, Princess Haya bint Al Hussein, since the judgments were released yesterday. Sheikh Mohammed is the head of state of Dubai and has strong...
Compensation on divorce – don’t get (too) excited NOW UPDATED*
The Guardian has reported on a divorce case where the wife has received half of the assets plus another £400,000 to compensate her ‘relationship – generated disadvantage: giving up work as a solicitor to become primary carer to the parties’ children while the husband...
Approaching Forced Marriage Protection Orders following Re K
This is a guest post by Laura Vickers. Laura is a specialist children law barrister and mediator practising at No5 Barristers’ Chambers. She tweets as @LauraVickersNo5 Outline This post considers the guidance given by the President of the Family Division in the recent...
More openness from the President
The President of the Family Division Sir Andrew McFarlane has taken the very brave decision to give an open explanation of his need to undergo open heart surgery next month, in order to explain the impact it will have on planned work in coming months. Everyone here at...
‘The balance of probabilities’ – A BBC Radio 4 play set amidst care proceedings following a father’s acquittal of murdering his baby
This is a review by new writer Delia Minoprio. Delia is a family law barrister at 1 Crown Office Row specialising in all aspects of children work. She tweets as @familylawdm "When Daniel was put on trial for murdering his son, his baby...
Conciliation
We've been attending hearings under the legal blogging pilot for almost 18 months now, and in that time have covered a range of hearing and case types. But, by the back end of 2019 we were increasingly conscious that we'd not attended much in the way of run of the...