Posts
‘Do Separating Parents Need the Family Court?’ – the annual Family Justice Council debate
Update 1st October 2020 - The transcript and podcast are now available at the FJC website here: https://www.judiciary.uk/related-offices-and-bodies/advisory-bodies/fjc/conference-debates/debates/ Transparency Project members have attended the annual debates arranged...
Court of Appeal gives guidance on Secure Accommodation Orders
A Local Authority v B’s mother; B’s father; B’s stepfather; and B (through her Cafcass guardian); the Association of Lawyers for Children (intervening) [2019] EWCA Civ 2025 The local authority was applying for a secure accommodation order in respect of B (aged 15). B...
How does the family court treat domestic abuse: A ‘snapshot’ continued: Part 8
This is a post from Sophie Smith-Holland, who tweets as @SSmithHolland. The question of how the family court deals with domestic abuse has had a huge amount of public and media attention recently. Concerns have been raised that the system is placing children...
How does the family court treat domestic abuse?: A snapshot (continued – Part 7)
This is a post from Sophie Smith-Holland, who tweets as @SSmithHolland. The question of how the family court deals with domestic abuse has had a huge amount of public and media attention recently. Concerns have been raised that the system is placing children...
Orphans from Syria
Mr Justice Keehan has this week published an extraordinary judgment of a mere 17 staccato paragraphs. It is called Re Orphans From Syria [2019] EWHC 3202 (Fam). It begins : This matter concerns British citizens who were in Syria who are orphans. I made a...
The President’s New Clothes
This week has seen reports in the legal press of a speech in which the President of the Family Division set out an idea for a research project about news reports containing accounts of how family courts have handled domestic abuse claims. See for example : Press...
Byline Festival
This blog post originally appeared as our monthly column for November 2019 in Family law at Family Law [2019] Fam Law 1334. During the summer vacation, the Transparency Project took its message to the people. We organised two events at the Byline Festival in East...
Cape v Dring and legal blogging
This blog post originally appeared as the Transparency Project's monthly column for October 2019 in Family Law [2019] Fam Law 1208(1). Cape v Dring In July 2019, the Supreme Court handed down judgment in the case of Cape Intermediate Holdings Ltd v Dring (Asbestos...
The transparency of family court appeals: the new Practice Direction 30B
In family proceedings, some appeals go to the Court of Appeal, some (mostly) to a High Court judge in the Family Division of the High Court or the Family Court. Routinely Court of Appeal appeals are heard in open court and the parties, other than children, are named...
Brothers’ and sisters’ rights in care
Many people believe that we do not pay enough attention to the rights of children in care to stay with, or at least stay in touch with, their brothers and sisters. Our relationships with our brothers and sisters can be the longest and most valuable in our lives but,...