Void, Valid and Very Confusing – what is the status of Sharia Marriages in the UK?

by reporting watch team | Aug 3, 2018 | Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch

The High Court here in London has recently considered the status of an islamic marriage, that did not comply with all the usual formalities required in England & Wales. It has generated a lot of confused and confusing headlines – the marriage has been...

Judge takes over father’s cross-examination in case involving rape allegations – and it ends up being unfair on everyone involved

by reporting watch team | Jul 30, 2018 | Cases, FCReportingWatch

Mr Justice Hayden is a High Court Judge who has been very outspoken about the potential for the court process to be abusive of those who are already victims of domestic abuse. In a case called Re A (a minor) (fact finding; unrepresented party) [2017] EWHC 1195 (Fam),...

Just how close was 3-year-old ‘AJS’ to being adopted because of the unlawful immigration detention of her father?

by reporting watch team | Jul 28, 2018 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch

Last week BBC News and the Guardian reported the important public interest story of a father’s unlawful immigration detention, that left his three-year-old unnecessarily in care and at risk of a plan for adoption, despite the family court declaring they should...

Owens v Owens: nobody panic

by Polly Morgan | Jul 25, 2018 | Cases, Explanation, FCReportingWatch

Owens v Owens is a Supreme Court decision about divorce, specifically about the level of behaviour needed to obtain a divorce on the basis of a spouse’s behaviour. Although we commonly refer to this as ‘unreasonable behaviour’, the proper wording says: ‘That the...

Hit on the head by an old chestnut

by Polly Morgan | Jul 19, 2018 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch, Notorious

The hoary chestnut, the ‘meal ticket for life’, has fallen from the media and hit us squarely on the head again. This time, the impetus is a Supreme Court case called Mills v Mills. Back when it reached the Court of Appeal, one of my colleagues here on the...

Supreme Court emphasises councils’ duties to inform parents fully about s. 20

by Julie Doughty | Jul 18, 2018 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch, Notorious

“Parents with parental responsibility always have a qualified right to object and an unqualified right to remove their children at will (subject to any court orders about where the child is to live). Section 20 gives local authorities no compulsory powers over...