Category: Children

In re B (A Child) (Non-accidental Injury): CA 24 Apr 2002

Even where all the experts conclude that non-accidental injury is not the only possible cause of injury to a child, the court may conclude looking at the evidence on the whole that that is the cause.

Judges:

Thorpe LJ, Buxton LJ, Jackson J

Citations:

[2002] EWCA Civ 752, [2002] 2 FLR 1133, [2002] Fam Law 879, [2002] 3 FCR 85

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Lancashire County Council v R (A Minor) and others FD 4-Dec-2008
The local authority sought a care order, alleging serious physical abuse of the child. The mother said that any injuries had been inflicted by the father. The father said that the cause was the mother.
Held: The injuries were not likely to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.258650

Murray v Express Newspapers Plc and Another: ChD 7 Aug 2007

The claimant, now aged four and the son of a famous author, was photographed by use of a long lens, but in a public street. He now sought removal of the photograph from the defendant’s catalogue, and damages for breach of confidence.
Held: The claim was struck out. In effect this was an application for protection of the mother, and the court was being asked to extend the jurisprudence in Campbell v MGN to follow more recent cases in the ECHR. The mother had always kept her children out of the media, despite continuous intrusions. ‘one needs, I think, to differentiate between the case where the child has for medical or some other personal reasons come to the knowledge of the general public and for those very reasons may be particularly vulnerable to harm from intrusive press exposure and the much more ordinary case (such as the present one) in which the child comes into focus largely if not exclusively by being in the company of his or her much more famous parents. Even in cases of this kind the Court is bound to have regard to any particular harm (actual or prospective) which the child may suffer from having his image publicly displayed. But in most such cases (and on the pleadings this is no exception) the child will have suffered no upset or harm. The purpose of the claim will be to carve out for the child some private space in relation to his public appearances. ‘ The starting point is to establish whether an article 8 human right is engaged, and only then to balance the rights of te child of of the media. The photographs were taken in a public place. That was not itself conclusive, but there were none of the context which might say that an article 8 issue had arisen.
The boundaries of what any individual can reasonably expect to remain confidential or private are necessarily influenced by the fact that we live in an open society with a free press. If harassment becomes an issue then it can and should be dealt with specifically as it is by the 1997 Act.
As to the claim under the Data Protection Act, though the defendant was not properly registered and therefore the data was not processed properly or fairly, that Act recompensed only financial loss, and no such loss appeared here.
‘The question whether a child in any particular circumstances has a reasonable expectation for privacy must be determined by the court taking an objective view of the matter including the reasonable expectations of his parents in those same circumstances as to whether their children’s lives in a public place should remain private . . The court can attribute to the child reasonable expectations about his private life based on matters such as how it has in fact been conducted by those responsible for his welfare and upbringing.’

Judges:

Patten J

Citations:

[2007] EWHC 1908 (Ch), Times 04-Oct-2007, [2008] 1 WLR 2846, [2007] UKHRR 1322, [2007] Fam Law 1073, [2007] ECDR 20, [2007] EMLR 22, [2007] HRLR 44, [2008] 1 FLR 704, [2007] 3 FCR 331

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights 8, Protection from Harassment Act 1997, Data Protection Act 1994 4(4)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Campbell v Mirror Group Newspapers Ltd (MGN) (No 1) HL 6-May-2004
The claimant appealed against the denial of her claim that the defendant had infringed her right to respect for her private life. She was a model who had proclaimed publicly that she did not take drugs, but the defendant had published a story . .
Cited – Regina v Special Adjudicator ex parte Ullah; Regina v Secretary of State for the Home Department HL 17-Jun-2004
The applicants had had their requests for asylum refused. They complained that if they were removed from the UK, their article 3 rights would be infringed. If they were returned to Pakistan or Vietnam they would be persecuted for their religious . .
Cited – Sciacca v Italy ECHR 11-Jan-2005
The court was asked whether the applicant’s rights under Article 8 had been infringed by the release to the press of an identity photograph taken of her by the Italian Revenue Police while she was under arrest and investigation for various criminal . .
Cited – Prince Albert v Strange ChD 8-Feb-1849
The Prince sought to restrain publication of otherwise unpublished private etchings and lists of works by Queen Victoria. The etchings appeared to have been removed surreptitiously from or by one Brown. A personal confidence was claimed.
Held: . .
Cited – Coco v A N Clark (Engineers) Ltd ChD 1968
Requirememts to prove breach of confidence
A claim was made for breach of confidence in respect of technical information whose value was commercial.
Held: Megarry J set out three elements which will normally be required if, apart from contract, a case of breach of confidence is to . .
Cited – Australian Broadcasting Corporation v Lenah Game Meats Pty Ltd 15-Nov-2001
(High Court of Australia) The activities of a company which processed possum meat for export (‘what the processing of possums looks,and sounds like’) were not such as to attract the quality of being confidential for the purpose of the law protecting . .
Cited – MGN Ltd v Attard 19-Oct-2001
Complaint was made about the publication of photographs of the survivor of conjoined twins who was only one year old. The photographs were taken in a street in Malta but followed the earlier publication of photographs and press articles based on . .
Cited – In re S (a Child) (Identification: Restrictions on Publication) HL 28-Oct-2004
Inherent High Court power may restrain Publicity
The claimant child’s mother was to be tried for the murder of his brother by poisoning with salt. It was feared that the publicity which would normally attend a trial, would be damaging to S, and an application was made for reporting restrictions to . .
Cited – Hosking and Hosking v Simon Runting and Another 25-Mar-2004
(Court of Appeal of New Zealand) A photographer was commissioned to take photographs of the children of a well known television personality. He took pictures of Mr Hosking’s eighteen month old twins being pushed down a street by their mother. Mr and . .
Cited – Peck v The United Kingdom ECHR 28-Jan-2003
peck_ukECHR2003
The claimant had been filmed by CCTV. He had, after attempting suicide, left home with a knife, been arrested by the police and disarmed, but then sent home without charge. The CCTV film was used on several occasions to advertise the effectiveness . .
Cited – Von Hannover v Germany ECHR 24-Jun-2004
Princess Caroline of Monaco who had, at some time, received considerable attention in the media throughout Europe, complained at the publication of photographs taken of her withour her permission.
Held: There was no doubt that the publication . .
Cited – McKennitt and others v Ash and Another QBD 21-Dec-2005
The claimant sought to restrain publication by the defendant of a book recounting very personal events in her life. She claimed privacy and a right of confidence. The defendant argued that there was a public interest in the disclosures.
Held: . .
Cited – Ash and Another v McKennitt and others CA 14-Dec-2006
The claimant was a celebrated Canadian folk musician. The defendant, a former friend, published a story of their close friendship. The claimant said the relationship had been private, and publication infringed her privacy rights, and she obtained an . .
Cited – Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v M HL 8-Mar-2006
The respondent’s child lived with the estranged father for most of each week. She was obliged to contribute child support. She now lived with a woman, and complained that because her relationship was homosexual, she had been asked to pay more than . .
Cited – Johnson v The Medical Defence Union CA 28-Mar-2007
The claimant asserted that the 1998 Act created rights between the parties that are in substance though not in form of a contractual nature; and rights to compensation for infringement of those primary rights of a nature that did not previously . .
Cited – John v Associated Newspapers Ltd QBD 23-Jun-2006
Photographs were taken of Sir Elton John in a London street outside his home. They showed him dressed in a tracksuit and wearing a baseball cap but were otherwise innocuous.
Held: The court refused to grant an injunction on the basis that Sir . .

Cited by:

Appeal from – Murray v Big Pictures (UK) Ltd; Murray v Express Newspapers CA 7-May-2008
The claimant, a famous writer, complained on behalf of her infant son that he had been photographed in a public street with her, and that the photograph had later been published in a national newspaper. She appealed an order striking out her claim . .
Cited – OPO v MLA and Another QBD 18-Jul-2014
A boy now sought an interim injunction to restrain his father, the defendant classical musician, from publishing his autobiography which mentioned him. The book would say that the father had suffered sexual abuse as a child at school.
Held: . .
Cited – NT 1 and NT 2 v Google Llc QBD 13-Apr-2018
Right to be Forgotten is not absolute
The two claimants separately had criminal convictions from years before. They objected to the defendant indexing third party web pages which included personal data in the form of information about those convictions, which were now spent. The claims . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Media, Human Rights, Children, Information

Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.258616

Re G (Children): CA 20 May 2002

Judges:

Ward LJ, Sir Martin Nourse

Citations:

[2002] EWCA Civ 761

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Down Lisburn Health and Social Services Trust and Another v H and Another HL 12-Jul-2006
The House considered when adoption law would allow an adoption without the consent of the birth parent where there had been some continuing contact between that parent and the child.
Held: (Baroness Hale dissenting) The appeal against the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.217171

S, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Sutton: CA 26 Jul 2007

The local authority owed the section 20(1) duty towards a 17 year old girl who was about to be released from a Secure Training Centre. It argued however that the duty no longer applied because she had agreed to go to a hostel for homeless women under the homelessness legislation, though also conceding that she could have been accommodated there under the Children Act.
Held: She had in fact been placed there in fulfilment of their Children Act obligations, and they continued to owe her obligations after she reached the age of 18.

Judges:

Lord Clarke of Stone-cum-Ebony MR, Arden, Hooper LJJ

Citations:

[2007] EWCA Civ 790, 10 CCLR 615

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Children Act 1989 20 23B

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Helpful – H and others v London Borough of Wandsworth and others Admn 23-Apr-2007
In three linked cases, unaccompanied asylum-seeking children had had assistance with housing from the local social services authorities. They claimed entitlement to support as former relevant children under section 20. The local authorities argued . .

Cited by:

Cited – M, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham HL 27-Feb-2008
M, a girl aged 16 had become estranged from her mother, and sought housing assistance. She was not referred to the authority’s children’s services, and was not housed. The House examined the duties of local authorities under the section towards . .
Cited – G, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough Of Southwark HL 20-May-2009
The House was asked whether when a child of 16 or 17 who was ejected from home and presents himself to a local children’s services authority and asks to be accommodated by them under section 20 of the Children Act 1989, it is open to that authority . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children, Local Government

Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.258425

Re W (Children), GW (The Father) Litigant in Person: CA 26 Jul 2007

The father sought to appeal an order with respect to contact with his children, alleging ‘that the reasons he is not having contact with his children are a combination of maternal deceit, the deliberate alienation of the children from him by their mother, and a gullible and corrupt family justice system which has dishonestly and deliberately taken the mother’s part. ‘
Held: It was the father’s own attitude and hatred of the mother which made it unsafe to allow unspuervised contact. Both the mother and court desired contact, but the father rejected the idea of supervised contact. At this hearing the court could not make the orders sought by the father. It could decide only whether he was to be given leave to appeal. The history of litigation had been very extensive, and the father had made threats of violence to the court, and had been ready to disobey court orders. It was demonstrably clear that the father had not been denied access to the papers. A previous injustice in an order had been corrected by the court on a previous occasion, and had no continuing significance. The father had suffered a violent assault and head injury after which he had himself been violent, but appeared not to be ready to be assessed, and: ‘when things are not going his way, GW is plainly incapable of controlling himself. He is consumed with hatred for his former wife, and we have little doubt that McFarlane J was right to be concerned that, left alone with the children, he would demonstrate clearly to them his feelings about her. ‘ The applications were refused.

Judges:

Wall LJ, Bennett J

Citations:

[2007] EWCA Civ 786, Times 02-Aug-2007

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Clarke-Hunt v Newcombe CA 1982
Cumming-Bruce LJ discussed the difficulty faced by an appeal court: ‘There was not really a right solution: there were two alternative wrong solutions. The problem for the judge was to appreciate the factors pointing in each direction and to decide . .
Cited – Re Bradford (a Child); Re O’Connell (Children) CA 25-Aug-2006
Without notice oral applications for permission to appeal made by litigants in person are not the stuff of which reserved judgments, law reports or publicity in the media are made. . .

Cited by:

Cited – Re F and H (Children) CA 24-Aug-2007
The father sought leave to appeal a care order and an order releasing his child for adoption.
Held: The court applied Re W as to the extent of the duty of the appellate court in such matters. The appeal would stand no reasonable prospect of . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.258402

Norfolk County Council v The Parents and BC (By her Child’s Guardian): FD 29 Jun 2007

Judges:

Holman J

Citations:

[2007] EWHC 1566 (Fam)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Webster (the Parents) v Norfolk County Council and others CA 11-Feb-2009
Four brothers and sisters had been adopted after the parents had been found to have abused them. The parents now had expert evidence that the injuries may have been the result of scurvy, and sought leave to appeal.
Held: Leave was refused. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.254469

British Broadcasting Corporation v CAFCASS Legal and others: FD 30 Mar 2007

Parents of a child had resisted care proceedings, and now wished the BBC to be able to make a TV programme about their case. They applied to the court for the judgment to be released. Applications were also made to have a police officer’s and medical staffs’ and social workers’ names to be excised.
Held: There is an emerging consensus that, at least in care cases, judgments should be published, albeit in anonymised form, Subject to appropriate anonymisation, the material should be published.

Judges:

Munby J

Citations:

[2007] EWHC 616 (Fam), [2007] 2 FLR 765

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Children Act 1989 31(2)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – B (A Child); Re C (Welfare of Child: Immunisation) CA 30-Jul-2003
The father sought a specific issue order for the immunisation of his child in particular with the MMR vaccine. The mother opposed all immunisation.
Held: Whether a child was to be refused immunisation was an issue on which both parents should . .
Cited – Kent County Council v The Mother, The Father, B (By Her Children’s Guardian); Re B (A Child) (Disclosure) FD 19-Mar-2004
The council had taken the applicant’s children into care alleging that the mother had harmed them. In the light of the subsequent cases casting doubt on such findings, the mother sought the return of her children. She applied now that the hearings . .
Cited – Norfolk County Council v Webster and others FD 1-Nov-2006
The claimants wished to claim that they were victims of a miscarriage of justice in the way the Council had dealt with care proceedings. They sought that the proceedings should be reported without the children being identified.
Held: A judge . .
Cited – Clayton v Clayton CA 27-Jun-2006
The family had been through protracted family law proceedings and had been subject to orders restricting identification. The father now wanted to discuss his experiences and to campaign. He could not do so without his child being identified.
Cited – A Local Authority v W L W T and R; In re W (Children) (Identification: Restrictions on Publication) FD 14-Jul-2005
An application was made by a local authority to restrict publication of the name of a defendant in criminal proceedings in order to protect children in their care. The mother was accused of having assaulted the second respondent by knowingly . .
Cited – In re S (a Child) (Identification: Restrictions on Publication) HL 28-Oct-2004
Inherent High Court power may restrain Publicity
The claimant child’s mother was to be tried for the murder of his brother by poisoning with salt. It was feared that the publicity which would normally attend a trial, would be damaging to S, and an application was made for reporting restrictions to . .
Cited – Reynolds v Times Newspapers Ltd and others HL 28-Oct-1999
Fair Coment on Political Activities
The defendant newspaper had published articles wrongly accusing the claimant, the former Prime Minister of Ireland of duplicity. The paper now appealed, saying that it should have had available to it a defence of qualified privilege because of the . .
Cited – George Galloway MP v The Telegraph Group Ltd CA 25-Jan-2006
The defendant appealed agaiunst a finding that it had defamed the claimant by repeating the contents of papers found after the invasion of Iraq which made claims against the claimant. The paper had not sought to justify the claims, relying on . .
Cited – Greene v Associated Newspapers Ltd CA 5-Nov-2004
The claimant appealed against refusal of an order restraining publication by the respondent of an article about her. She said that it was based upon an email falsely attributed to her.
Held: ‘in an action for defamation a court will not impose . .
Cited – Re Angela Roddy (a child) (identification: restriction on publication), Torbay Borough Council v News Group Newspapers FD 2-Dec-2003
A twelve year old girl had become pregnant. The Catholic Church was said to have paid her not to have an abortion. After the birth she and her baby were taken into care. The authority proposed the adoption of the baby. There was more publicity. . .
Cited – Doorson v The Netherlands ECHR 26-Mar-1996
Evidence was given in criminal trials by anonymous witnesses and evidence was also read as a result of a witness having appeared at the trial but then absconded. The defendant was convicted of drug trafficking. As regards the anonymous witnesses, . .
Cited – Z v Finland ECHR 25-Feb-1997
A defendant had appealed against his conviction for manslaughter and related offences by deliberately subjecting women to the risk of being infected by him with HIV virus. The applicant, Z, had been married to the defendant, and infected by him with . .
Cited – A Health Authority v Dr X and Others CA 21-Dec-2001
Where, after a children case has been heard, a party wishes to apply for the release of papers, the application should be made before the judge who had heard the case. To do otherwise left the second judge making a difficult assessment with . .
Cited – A Health Authority v X (Discovery: Medical Conduct) FD 2001
There is a compelling public interest in authorising the disclosure of documents to the General Medical Council if they ‘are or may be relevant to the General Medical Council carrying out its statutory duties to protect the public against possible . .

Cited by:

See also – Doctor A and Others v Ward and Another FD 8-Jan-2010
Parents wished to publicise the way care proceedings had been handled, naming the doctors, social workers and experts some of whom had been criticised. Their names had been shown as initials so far, and interim contra mundum orders had been made . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children, Media, Local Government

Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.253470

Re H (A Child Parental Responsibility : Vaccination): CA 22 May 2020

he parents of H objected to the vaccination of their young baby. They now appealed from care and placement orders made as a consequence. They had also declined to register the birth saying that the authorities had no jurisdiction. As to vaccination there had been conflicting first instance decisions.

Judges:

Lady Justice King, Lord Justice McCombe and Lord Justice Peter Jackson

Citations:

[2020] EWCA Civ 664, [2020] 3 WLR 1049, [2021] Fam 133, [2020] 2 FLR 753, [2020] 2 FCR 683, [2021] 2 All ER 288

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Children Act 1989 33 100

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children, Health

Updated: 11 July 2022; Ref: scu.650938

Re E (A Child); E v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary and Another (Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and others intervening): HL 12 Nov 2008

(Northern Ireland) Children had been taken to school in the face of vehement protests from Loyalists. The parents complained that the police had failed to protect them properly, since the behaviour was so bad as to amount to inhuman or degrading treatment, and that the police had given undue weight to the right to demonstrate. The House was asked whether the duty to protect the children was absolute, or whether it had to be balanced as reasonable as against the right of protest.
Held: There remained substantial disputes of fact yet to be resolved. The test set out in Smith is not sufficient to determine an issue of proportionality under the Convention. The court of appeal had used that test and had therefore erred.
The police had taken the view that only a negotiated community solution would work. That had indeed eventually worked. The police ‘were uniquely placed through their experience and intelligence to make a judgment on the wisest course to take in all the circumstances. They had long and hard experience of the problems encountered in dealing with riotous situations in urban areas in Northern Ireland. The difficulty of catching and arresting malefactors who had means of retreat available through paths and gardens are self-evident. The police had available to them sources of information about what was happening in the community and what was likely to happen if they took certain courses of action, which they were experienced in assessing.’ The police had therefore ‘fulfilled the positive obligation imposed by article 3 and that the appellant has not established a breach of her rights or those of her child under that article.’

Judges:

Lord Hoffmann, Lord Scott of Foscote, Baroness Hale of Richmond, Lord Carswell, Lord Brown of Eaton-under-Heywood

Citations:

[2008] UKHL 66, [2009] UKHRR 277, [2009] 1 All ER 467, [2008] 3 WLR 1208, [2009] 1 AC 536, [2009] HRLR 8, 25 BHRC 720

Links:

Bailii, HL

Statutes:

European Convention on Human Rights 3

Jurisdiction:

Northern Ireland

Citing:

Cited – Ilhan v Turkey ECHR 27-Jun-2000
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection dismissed (victim); Preliminary objection dismissed (non-exhaustion); No violation of Art. 2; Violation of Art. 3; Violation of Art. 13; . .
Cited – Osman v The United Kingdom ECHR 28-Oct-1998
Police’s Complete Immunity was Too Wide
(Grand Chamber) A male teacher developed an obsession with a male pupil. He changed his name by deed poll to the pupil’s surname. He was required to teach at another school. The pupil’s family’s property was subjected to numerous acts of vandalism, . .
Cited – Oneryildiz v Turkey ECHR 18-Jun-2002
(Grand Chamber) The applicant had lived with his family in a slum bordering on a municipal house-hold refuse tip. A methane explosion at the tip resulted in a landslide which engulfed the applicant’s house, killing his close relatives. The applicant . .
Cited – Hertfordshire Police v Van Colle; Smith v Chief Constable of Sussex Police HL 30-Jul-2008
Police Obligations to Witnesses is Limited
A prosecution witness was murdered by the accused shortly before his trial. The parents of the deceased alleged that the failure of the police to protect their son was a breach of article 2.
Held: The House was asked ‘If the police are alerted . .
Cited – In re Officer L HL 31-Jul-2007
Police officers appealed against refusal of orders protecting their anonymity when called to appear before the Robert Hamill Inquiry.
Held: ‘The tribunal accordingly approached the matter properly under article 2 in seeking to ascertain . .
Cited – Z And Others v The United Kingdom ECHR 10-May-2001
Four children complained that, for years before they were taken into care by the local authority, its social services department was well aware that they were living in filthy conditions and suffering ‘appalling’ neglect in the home of their . .
Cited – Gldani Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses Others v Georgia ECHR 3-May-2007
The applicant claimed that the police had known in advance of an attack upon the applicants by religious opponents, which he said would constitute inhuman or degrading treatment, but that they had failed to take any preventive action.
Held: . .
Cited – YF v Turkey ECHR 22-Jul-2003
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Violation of Art. 8 ; Non-pecuniary damage – financial award ; Costs and expenses partial award – Convention proceedings . .
Cited – Regina v Ministry of Defence ex parte Smith; ex parte Grady CA 3-Nov-1995
Four appellants challenged the policy of the ministry to discharge homosexuals from the armed services.
Held: Where a measure affects fundamental rights or has profoundly intrusive effects, the courts will anxiously scrutinise the decision to . .
Cited – Marckx v Belgium ECHR 13-Jun-1979
Recognition of illegitimate children
The complaint related to the manner in which parents were required to adopt their own illegitimate child in order to increase his rights. Under Belgian law, no legal bond between an unmarried mother and her child results from the mere fact of birth. . .
Cited – Regina (Daly) v Secretary of State for the Home Department HL 23-May-2001
A prison policy requiring prisoners not to be present when their property was searched and their mail was examined was unlawful. The policy had been introduced after failures in search procedures where officers had been intimidated by the presence . .
Cited – Shamoon v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary HL 27-Feb-2003
The applicant was a chief inspector of police. She had been prevented from carrying out appraisals of other senior staff, and complained of sex discrimination.
Held: The claimant’s appeal failed. The tribunal had taken a two stage approach. It . .
Cited – Nachova and Others v Bulgaria ECHR 26-Feb-2004
Hudoc Judgment (Merits and just satisfaction) Preliminary objection rejected (estoppel) ; Violation of Art. 2 with regard to deaths ; Violation of Art. 2 with regard to lack of effective investigation ; Not . .
Cited – Carson, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions; Reynolds v Same HL 26-May-2005
One claimant said that as a foreign resident pensioner, she had been excluded from the annual uprating of state retirement pension, and that this was an infringement of her human rights. Another complained at the lower levels of job-seeker’s . .
Cited – Begum (otherwise SB), Regina (on the Application of) v Denbigh High School HL 22-Mar-2006
The student, a Muslim wished to wear a full Islamic dress, the jilbab, but this was not consistent with the school’s uniform policy. She complained that this interfered with her right to express her religion.
Held: The school’s appeal . .
Cited – Huang v Secretary of State for the Home Department HL 21-Mar-2007
Appellate Roles – Human Rights – Families Split
The House considered the decision making role of immigration appellate authorities when deciding appeals on Human Rights grounds, against refusal of leave to enter or remain, under section 65. In each case the asylum applicant had had his own . .
Cited – Cobzaru v Romania ECHR 26-Jul-2007
The applicant complained of having been beaten by police officers when he went to the police station to report an attack. He was a Roma and complained of State discrimination. . .
Cited – Secic v Croatia ECHR 31-May-2007
The applicant had been attacked and beaten by skinheads shouting racial abuse. He complained that as a Roma, the police had failed through race discrimination properly to investigate his complaint.
Held: The court repeated the statement that . .

Cited by:

Cited – E and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v The Director of Public Prosecutions Admn 10-Jun-2011
Judicial review was sought of a decision by the respondent to prosecute a child for her alleged sexual abuse of her younger sisters. Agencies other than the police and CPS considered that a prosecution would harm both the applicant and her sisters. . .
Cited – DB v Chief Constable of Police Service of Northern Ireland SC 1-Feb-2017
The appellant said that the police Service of Northern Ireland had failed properly to police the ‘flags protest’ in 2012 and 2013. The issue was not as to the care and effort taken, but an alleged misunderstanding of their powers.
Held: Treacy . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Human Rights, Children, Police

Updated: 10 July 2022; Ref: scu.277815

Re L and H (Residential Assessment); CT and Another v Bristol City Council and others: CA 14 Mar 2007

Application for leave to appeal against refusal to order residential assessment under section 38(6). ECHR Articles 6 and 8, and the underlying philosophy of the 1989 Act, required that a case be fully investigated and that all the relevant evidence necessary should be in place before children were permanently removed from their natural families and placed for adoption with strangers.

Judges:

Thorpe LJ, Wall LJ

Citations:

[2007] EWCA Civ 213, [2007] 1 FLR 1370

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Children Act 1989 38(6)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – In re F (A Child) (Placement Order); C v East Sussex County Council (Adoption) CA 1-May-2008
The father sought to revoke a freeing order. He said that the social workers had conspired to exclude him from the process. The child was born of a casual relationship, and at first he was unaware of the proceedings. On learning of them he sought to . .
Cited – In re S (A Child) CA 12-Aug-2008
The mother of the child applied for leave to appeal against an order under section 38(9), seeking a residential assessment.
Held: The judge had been exercising a discretion which he had done properly, and the court would not interfere with it. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children, Human Rights

Updated: 10 July 2022; Ref: scu.250010

Russell v Russell: HL 30 May 1924

The House was asked whether or not by the law of England evidence of non-access may, in proceedings for divorce, be tendered by a spouse and received by a Court with the object, or possible result, of bastardising a child of the marriage.
Held: It was not receivable.

Citations:

[1924] UKHL 1

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Family, Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.248474

LM (A Child) v Medway Council and others: CA 19 Jan 2007

Smith LJ set out the approach when a court considered asking a child to attend at court to give evidence in family proceedings: ‘The correct starting point . . is that it is undesirable that a child should have to give evidence in care proceedings and that particular justification will be required before that course is taken. There will be some cases in which it will be right to make an order. In my view they will be rare . . the judge will have to balance the need for the evidence in the circumstances of the case against what he assesses to be the potential for harm to the child. In assessing the need for oral evidence . . the judge should, in my view, take account of the importance of the evidence to the process of his decision about the child’s future. It may be that the child’s future cannot satisfactorily be determined without that evidence. In assessing the risk of harm or oppression, the judge should take heed of current research into the effect on children of giving evidence and should not rely only upon his impression of the child, although that will of course be relevant.’

Judges:

Smith LJ

Citations:

[2007] EWCA Civ 9, [2007] 1 FLR 1698

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Cited – Regina v B County Council, ex parte P CA 1991
Application was made for judicial review of a decision of the magistrate in proceedings under the Children and Young Persons Act. The issue arose as to whether or not young children should be compelled to give evidence.
Held: The decision of . .
Cited – Re P (Witness Summons) CA 1997
. .

Cited by:

Cited – In re W (Children) (Family proceedings: Evidence) (Abuse: Oral Evidence) SC 3-Mar-2010
The court considered the approach to be taken when considering whether to order a child’s attendance at court in care proceedings. It was argued that the starting point of assuming that a child should not attend, failed to respect the human right to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.247932

S County Council v B: FD 29 Jul 1999

The guardian ad litem of three children made an application, supported by the local authority and the mother of the three children that the father be ordered to disclose in these proceedings (a) the identity of, and (b) copies of, the reports and notes of the medical experts the father is proposing to instruct in connection with the preparation and presentation of his defence to criminal proceedings. The criminal proceedings have been brought against him under s 18 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 in respect of injuries suffered by N.

Judges:

Charles J

Citations:

[1999] EWHC Fam 1, [2000] Fam Law 462, [2000] 1 FCR 536, [2000] Fam 76, [2000] 2 FLR 161, [2000] 3 WLR 53

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.263377

Richmond Upon Thames London Borough Council v Holmes and Others: FD 20 Oct 2000

A newspaper sought to investigate the policies adopted by the council as regards inter-racial fostering. The council relied upon the Act to justify restrictions it sought to be imposed on the reporting. The case was not affected by the Children Act, and therefore no balancing exercise was required. The policy restricting publication was to be looked at under the convention, and limited only to the extent required. The injunction would be relaxed to permit publication provided the case was appropriately anonymised, and social workers with no opportunity to answer criticism were not named.

Citations:

Times 20-Oct-2000

Statutes:

Children Act 1989 1(1), European Convention on Human Rights 12

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children, Human Rights, Media

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.88779

TJ v CV and Another: FD 9 Aug 2007

The court was asked ‘What is the proper place of the biological father in a same-sex female family intended to be self sufficient?’ The two mothers were civil partners, and the child had been conceived through the fatherhood of the applicant. He accepted that the mothers should care for the child as a family, but asked that he should have contact.
Held: There is no normative pattern for contact in such cases, and each must be treated within its own factual matrix. There should be contact in this case four times a year under supervision.

Judges:

Hedley J

Citations:

[2007] EWHC 1952 (Fam)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Family, Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.267152

In Re P (Surrogacy: Residence): FD 2008

A mother had five children, but by different fathers. The last two under surrogacy arrangements. The first of these two was conceived after artificial insemination. During the pregnancy she told the biological father and his wife that she had miscarried. She and her husband raised that child as their own. A few years later she re-registered with the surrogacy agency and signed another surrogacy agreement. Again she became pregnant through artificial insemination, and again falsely informed the biological father and his wife that she had miscarried. Before the birth her eldest daughter telephoned the surrogacy agency to inform them of her mother’s deceptions. A few days after the fifth child was born, the biological father of that child issued residence proceedings, and within months the biological father of the fourth child applied for contact. Both fathers claimed that the mother had tricked them, with the knowledge and consent of her husband, having never had any intention of fulfilling the surrogacy agreements. The mother denied this. By the consolidated hearing, the biological father of the fourth child had reached an agreement with the mother that the child, now nearly 6 years old, would be told of her true paternity at an appropriate time in the near future and that there would subsequently be contact between father and child. The hearing therefore focused on the residence application by the father of the fifth child, with a view to adoption of the child, now 18 months old. Given the established relationship, the father of the fifth child and his wife were proposing ongoing contact with the mother and her husband. Having been very opposed to any recognition of the true paternity of either child, the mother was now apparently willing to provide contact to both biological fathers, but expert evidence suggested that she could not be relied upon to sustain such contact. It was acknowledged that the mother and husband were providing both the fourth and fifth children with a good level of care, and that both children had formed good attachments to the mother, her husband and their siblings.
Held: Coleridge J made a residence order in respect of the youngest child in favour of the father. He applied the principle that the test when choosing between two competing residential parental regimes was in which home was the child most likely to mature into a happy and balanced adult and to achieve his fullest potential as a human. The learned judge made it clear that the mother’s conduct in relation to the surrogacy was only relevant to the issue of credibility or suitability for the parental role; the case had nothing whatever to do with penalising the mother for breaking her agreement or for her prolonged deception. He found that the mother and her husband had set out to deceive both the couples with whom they had reached a surrogacy agreement because of a desperate desire to parent more children by any means. There were grave doubts as to the mother’s capacity to facilitate good-quality contact with the father, were she to be granted residence.

Judges:

Coleridge J

Citations:

[2008] 1 FLR 177

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – CW v NT and Another FD 21-Jan-2011
The mother had entered into a surrogacy arrangement to be inseminated, and give birth to the child, but then declined to transfer the child. The intended parents now sought a residence order. Payments had been made toward expenses, but no written . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.431723

Re M (Disclosure): FD 20 May 1998

Children proceedings must not become overburdened by expert evidence which vastly increase expense. Closer case management was urged by courts as urged. Disclosure of background reports to a legal adviser under conditions of confidentiality was discussed.

Citations:

Gazette 20-May-1998

Statutes:

Rules of the Supreme Court 1965 Order 40

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Citing:

Approved – Official Solicitor to the Supreme Court v K HL 1965
Legal representatives of a party were entitled to have disclosed to them of ‘behind the scenes’ investigation in a care matter in which their client was involved, but should be requested to undertake not to pass on details to their client. . .

Cited by:

Cited – In re W (Children) (Care proceedings: Disclosure) FD 11-Jul-2003
The authority had received confidential information from the police about mistreatment of a child by a father. The allegation was unknown to the mother. It sought directions from the court as to the extent to which it could breach that . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.85822

In re A and B (Parental Order: Domicile): FD 14 Feb 2013

Judges:

Theis DBE J

Citations:

[2013] EWHC 426 (Fam)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – In re X (A Child) (Surrogacy: Time Limit) FD 3-Oct-2014
Extension of Time for Parental Order
The court considered the making of a parental order in respect of a child through surrogacy procedures outside the time limits imposed by the 2008 Act. The child had been born under Indian surrogacy laws. The commissioning parents (now the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.471689

Re H (Parental Responsibility): FD 15 Jul 1998

A natural father could properly be refused a parental responsibility order where there was evidence of his having injured one other child by bruising. Behaviour to child’s half brother could be relevant.

Citations:

Gazette 15-Jul-1998, [1998] 1 FLR 855

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.85794

In re A and B, (Guidance): FD 7 Sep 2010

The children’s mother had been killed by the father who was now in prison. The maternal grandparents applied for residence orders.

Judges:

Hogg J

Citations:

[2010] EWHC 3824 (Fam), [2011] Fam Law 21, [2011] 1 FLR 783

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.440451

In re WT (A Child): FD 4 Mar 2014

Theis J said: ‘A parental order application has to be made within six months of the child’s birth. There is no power vested in the court to extend that period.’

Judges:

Theis DBE J

Citations:

[2014] EWHC 1303 (Fam)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – In re X (A Child) (Surrogacy: Time Limit) FD 3-Oct-2014
Extension of Time for Parental Order
The court considered the making of a parental order in respect of a child through surrogacy procedures outside the time limits imposed by the 2008 Act. The child had been born under Indian surrogacy laws. The commissioning parents (now the . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.525852

London Borough of Brent v C: FD 28 Apr 2016

‘This case raises issues both as to the end-of-life treatment of a very ill child, and as to alleged breaches of rights under the European Convention on Human Rights, in relation to which damages were claimed. ‘

Judges:

Holman J

Citations:

[2016] EWHC 1335 (Fam)

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children, Human Rights, Health Professions

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.565529

Southwark London Borough Council v B and Others: FD 29 Jul 1998

The date for consideration of whether the first or second threshold criteria had been met for care was when application made, or if continuous temporary arrangements for care made, from the date those arrangements were installed. Consistency between limbs was required.

Citations:

Gazette 26-Aug-1998, Times 29-Jul-1998, Gazette 16-Sep-1998

Statutes:

Children Act 1989 31(2)(a)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.89425

In re H (Children) (Contact Order) ( No 2): FD 22 Jun 2001

Exceptional circumstances might exist such that the need to protect a child’s primary carer would require the court to safeguard that at the expense of the immediate consideration of the welfare of the children. Here, contact had been established after the separation, but the father suffered a degenerative disease, and threatened his own suicide, and to take the children with him. His attempt to carry out the threat was averted by a third party. The mother provided evidence that she was so concerned at the possibility that she would be likely herself to suffer a nervous breakdown if contact were ordered. In this case the balance was against contact being ordered.

Judges:

Wall J

Citations:

Times 10-Aug-2001

Statutes:

Children Act 1989

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.159499

In re B (A child) (Care proceedings: Diplomatic Immunity): FD 30 Jul 2002

An order was sought in care proceedings with regard to a child of a family where the father was a member of the administrative and diplomatic staff of a diplomatic mission.
Held: Where a child was present in the UK at the time of the application, an English court had jurisdiction. Such a worker was protected only to the extent that his acts formed part of his duties. An exception to the Vienna Convention (37(2)) which underpinned the 1964 Act allowed the court to make an order even if the child was within a protected residence. Article 30 protected the premises of the diplomatic agent, not to the consequences of his acts.

Judges:

Butler-Sloss President

Citations:

Times 14-Oct-2002, Gazette 24-Oct-2002

Statutes:

Diplomatic Privileges Act 1964 4, Children Act 1989 31

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children, International

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.177412

Re A (Non-Accidental Injury: Medical Evidence); Re C-F (a child) (retinal haemorrhages: non-accidental injury): FD 12 Jan 2001

The court recognised the need to reflect current medical knowledge in practice on child abuse cases: ‘the frontiers of medical science are constantly being pushed back and that the state of knowledge is increasing all the time. That is why I find that when presented with a speculative theory based on an unlikely hypothetical base an expert will rarely discount it and will in effect never say never. Fanciful speculation is not an appropriate method of inquiry. What is needed and what the experts have done in this case is to piece together all the available information and look at the differential diagnosis. Many of the experts in this case specialise within a particular and very narrow field and by reason of being experts of referral at centres of excellence they acquire special knowledge and skill. However, concentration on a very narrow area of expertise can sometimes render it difficult for the expert to see the whole picture.’

Judges:

Bracewell J

Citations:

[2001] EWHC Fam 5, [2001] 2 FLR 657, [2001] 3 FCR 262, [2001] Fam Law 735

Links:

Bailii

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

Cited – Lancashire County Council v R (A Minor) and others FD 4-Dec-2008
The local authority sought a care order, alleging serious physical abuse of the child. The mother said that any injuries had been inflicted by the father. The father said that the cause was the mother.
Held: The injuries were not likely to . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.263379

Re G, S and M (Wasted Costs): FD 20 Sep 1999

The court discussed the duty of counsel and their instructing solicitors in proceedings under the Children Act 1989 to ensure that expert witnesses are kept up to date with events in the case; and, in particular, that before expert witnesses are called to give oral evidence, they have been sent and have read all relevant documents, particularly those which have emerged since their reports were written.

Judges:

Wall J

Citations:

[1999] EWHC Fam 828, [2000] 1 FLR 52, [1999] 4 All ER 371, [1999] 3 FCR 303, [2000] Fam 104, [2000] 2 WLR 1007, [2000] Fam Law 24

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Children Act 1989

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Legal Professions, Litigation Practice, Children

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.263378

In re Jane (A Child): FD 1 Nov 2010

The mother had courted publicity for herself and her daughter. The local authority sought a care order, and an interim order made. It was anticipated that there was media interest in continued identification of the child (whose name as anonymised for this report). The authority sought an order restricting identification of the child and associated persons including the professionals involved.
Held: The authority had not, as required, notified representatives of the media other than subscribers to CopyDirect of the application. That was a strict requirement under section 12 of the 1998 Act, and the court could not dispense with it. An order was only made as regards subscribers to the service notified and was limited so as not to restrict reports regarding the mother or father, since Jane was not now living with them. An order was made, including a requirement that no new photographs of Jane should be published, including any of her with her mother.

Judges:

Holman J

Citations:

[2010] EWHC 3221 (Fam), [2011] 1 FLR 1261, [2011] Fam Law 228

Links:

Bailii

Statutes:

Children Act 1989 38 100, Human Rights Act 1998 12(2)

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Children, Media

Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.430392