A social worker may relate oral admissions made by parents to him to the police without first getting a court’s permission.Butler-Sloss LJ said: ‘I would on balance and in the absence of argument give the more restrictive interpretation to r 4.23 and limit it to documents held by the court in the court file. I … Continue reading In Re G (A Minor) (Social Worker: Disclosure): CA 14 Nov 1995
In each case litigants in person had sought to be allowed to have the assistance and services of a Mackenzie friend in children cases. In one case, the court had not allowed confidential documents to be disclosed to the friend. Held: The courts had been unhelpful to the parties appearing before them. If given access … Continue reading O and others (Children); In re O (Children), In re W-R (a Child), In re W (Children): CA 22 Jun 2005
A social worker may disclose admissions made during investigation into child abuse, to the police without the court’s permission, where the information had not been incorporated in the welfare report filed at the court. The rule (against disclosure) applies only to documents which have actually been filed with the court and ‘protects only the pieces … Continue reading In Re W (Minors) (Social Worker: Disclosure); Re W (Disclosure to Police): CA 26 Mar 1998
Appeals under the Family Proceedings Rules had to be read in conjunction with the CCR Order 37 r 6, and the judge hearing the appeal had discretion to substitute his own view for that of the court below. This is different from what applies on appeal to the Court of Appeal. In particular the judge … Continue reading Marsh v Marsh: CA 1 Mar 1993
The father of a child involved in a case before the court was acting in person. He wanted to seek advice from the Citizen’s Advice Bureau or the RCJ Personal Support Unit. Held: The rules needed to be reconsidered so that a litigant in person need not each time apply to the court before disclosing … Continue reading In re G (a Child) (Litigants in Person): CA 28 Jul 2003
The legal aid board could refuse to grant legal aid to children involved in proceedings to refuse contact to a parent, because the regulations which applied were sufficiently widely drawn to allow a discretion to the local authority to pay the costs. In such circumstances it was not unreasonable for legal aid to be refused. … Continue reading E v Legal Aid Board, Ex P W et Al (Minors): QBD 25 Nov 1999
In heavily contested contact proceedings, the father had surreptitiously videoed an episode of contact, and his solicitors had sought an opinion from a psychologist, and provided anonymised information in support of the father’s application. Held: The court must always be asked for permission to obtain expert reports, and the court should direct what assistance it … Continue reading In Re A (Children) (Contact: Expert Evidence): FD 27 Feb 2001