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swarb.co.uk - law indexThese cases are from the lawindexpro database. They are now being transferred to the swarb.co.uk website in a better form. As a case is published there, an entry here will link to it. The swarb.co.uk site includes many later cases. |
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Children - From: 2001 To: 2001This page lists 174 cases, and was prepared on 20 May 2019. A Health Authority v X (Discovery: Medical Conduct); FD 2001 - [2001] 2 FLR 673 A Health Authority v X (Discovery: Medical Conduct) [2001] EWCA Civ 2014; [2002] 1 FLR 1045 2001 CA Thorpe LJ Health Professions, Children The court considered whether papers in a children's case should be made available to the GMC: "There is obviously a high public interest, analogous to the public interest in the due administration of criminal justice, in the proper administration of professional disciplinary hearings, particularly in the field of medicine." "The balance came down in favour of production as it invariably does, save in exceptional cases." 1 Cites 1 Citers In re M (Care: Challenging decisions by local authority) (2001) 2 FLR 1300 2001 Children 1 Citers Re G (Care proceedings: split trials) [2001] 1 FLR 872 2001 CA Hale LJ Children In a situation where an application is made for a care order, and the threshold criteria are met, but the court cannot decide which carer is responsible, the preferable interpretation is that in such cases the court is able to proceed at the welfare stage on the footing that each of the possible perpetrators is a possible perpetrator. The fact that a judge cannot always decide which means that when one gets to the welfare hearing, he has to proceed on the basis that each is a possible perpetrator. This accords with the basic principle that in considering the requirements of the child's welfare the court will have regard to all the circumstances of the case. 'When the facts found at the preliminary hearing leave open the possibility that a parent or other carer was a perpetrator of proved harm, it would not be right for that conclusion to be excluded from consideration at the disposal hearing as one of the matters to be taken into account. The importance to be attached to that possibility, as to every feature of the case, necessarily depends on the circumstances.' Children Act 1989 31(2) 1 Citers S v Miller 2001 SC 977 2001 SCS Lord President (Rodger), Lord Penrose, Lord Macfadyen Children, Criminal Practice After an assault S, aged 15, was detained, arrested and charged with assaulting L. The procurator fiscal decided not to prosecute, and the matter was reported to the police and to the reporter and on to a children's hearing to consider if measures of supervision were necessary and also if he had committed an offence. S to denied an assault, and that question was referred to a sheriff for determination. Such a proceeding had some features of a criminal proceeding. The criminal burden applied and an adverse finding would be a conviction to which the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 applied. It was accepted by S in the Court of Session that the children's hearing would determine S's civil rights and obligations within the meaning of article 6; the question was whether, as S contended, it would determine a criminal charge against him within the meaning of the article. The reporter tried to show that S had committed a criminal assault, but the proceedings were categorised as civil and not criminal. Held: Ruling against S on this issue. Lord Rodger of Earlsferry Lord President: "In itself the character which the proceedings have in our domestic law is not, of course, conclusive of the character which they should have under the Convention. Nevertheless, if one asks why, ultimately, Parliament has provided for civil rather than criminal proceedings, then the answer must be that, even though they may involve establishing that the child has committed an offence, there is no possibility of the child being punished, having a penalty imposed. On the contrary, in a sec 52(2)(i) case, as in any other, the aim of all the measures in chap 3 of the 1995 Act is, as its title proclaims, the 'Protection and Supervision of Children'. More particularly, sec 52 deals with 'Children requiring compulsory measures of supervision' and so the aim of all such proceedings is for the hearing to determine whether the child concerned requires such compulsory supervision in his own interests, the decision always being taken with the child's welfare as the paramount consideration (sec 16(1)). Similarly, the reporter can refer a case to a hearing under sec 65(1) for determination on the merits only if he is satisfied, not merely that the child has committed an offence, but also that compulsory measures of supervision are necessary. In my view such proceedings which are instituted to promote the child's welfare and have no penal element at all do not involve 'the determination � of any criminal charge against' the child in terms of art 6." and "the very titles of such codes of criminal law will often reveal that they are indeed concerned essentially with 'mati�re p�nale'. For instance, in France there is a 'code p�nale', in Italy a 'codice penale', in Spain a 'c�digo penal' and in Germany a 'Strafgesetzbuch'. It follows that when, in such cases as �zt�rk, the court investgiates whether the text defining the offence belongs to criminal law, it is investigating whether the text belongs to an area of the law where proceedings can result in a penalty being imposed." Lord Penrose and Lord Macfadyen concluded that the proceedings did not involve the determination of a criminal charge since they were not of a penal character but were designed to promote the welfare of the child. The criminal proceedings against S came to an end when the procurator fiscal decided not to proceed with the charge. Children (Scotland) Act 1995 52(2) 1 Citers Re C and B (Care Order: Future Harm) [2001] 1 FLR 611 2001 CA Hale LJ Children Hale LJ said that "a comparatively small risk of really serious harm can justify action, while even the virtual certainty of slight harm might not". Children Act 1989 31(2) 1 Citers Re X (Disclosure of Information) [2001] 2 FLR 440 2001 FD Munby J Children, Media There cannot be an expectation that expert evidence given in a children's court will always stay confidential. The various aspects of confidentiality will have greater or lesser weight on the facts of each case. Munby J: "Wrapped up in this concept of confidentiality there are, as it seems to me, a number of different factors and interests which need to be borne in mind: (i) First, there is the interest of the particular child concerned in maintaining the confidentiality and privacy of the proceedings in which he has been involved, what . . Balcombe LJ referred to as the "curtain of privacy". (ii) But there is also, secondly, the interest of litigants generally that those who, to use Lord Shaw of Dunfermline's famous words in Scott v Scott [1913] AC 417, 482, "appeal for the protection of the court in the case of [wards]" should not thereby suffer "the consequence of placing in the light of publicity their truly domestic affairs". It is very much in the interests of children generally that those who may wish to have recourse to the court in wardship or other proceedings relating to children are not deterred from doing so by the fear that their private affairs will be exposed to the public gaze � private affairs which often involve matters of the most intimate, personal, painful and potentially embarrassing nature. As Lord Shaw of Dunfermline said: "The affairs are truly private affairs; the transactions are transactions truly intra familiam". (iii) Thirdly, there is a public interest in encouraging frankness in children's cases, what Nicholls LJ referred to in Brown v Matthews [1990] Ch 662, 681C, as the frank and ready co-operation from people as diverse as doctors, school teachers, neighbours, the child in question, the parents themselves, and other close relations, including other children in the same family, on which the proper functioning of the system depends � it is very much in the interests of children generally that potential witnesses in such proceedings are not deterred from giving evidence by the fear that their private affairs or privately expressed views will be exposed to the public gaze. (iv) Fourthly, there is a particular public interest in encouraging frankness in children's cases on the part of perpetrators of child abuse of whatever kind . . . (v) Finally, there is a public interest in preserving faith with those who have given evidence to the family court in the belief that it would remain confidential. However, as both Ralph Gibson LJ in Brown v Matthews [1990] Ch 662, 672B � and Balcombe LJ in In re Manda [1993] Fam 183, 195H � make clear, whilst persons who give evidence in child proceedings can normally assume that their evidence will remain confidential, they are not entitled to assume that it will remain confidential in all circumstances . . ." 1 Cites 1 Citers Re M (Care: Challenging Decisions by Local Authority) [2001] 2 FLR 1300 2001 FD Holman J Children, Local Government, Human Rights Local authorities involved in care proceedings will infringe the rights of parents and other individual parties to them under both Article 6 and Article 8 of the Convention unless they conduct themselves with integrity, transparency and inclusiveness so as to satisfy the family's rights, necessarily to be construed in a wide sense, to a fair hearing and to respect for their private and family life. Held: The mother's appeal against the care order was dismissed. 1 Citers Re B (Disclosure to Other Parties) [2001] 2 FLR 1017 2001 Children, Human Rights Witnesses and others involved in children proceedings have article 8 rights. European Convention on Human Rights 8 1 Cites 1 Citers B v The United Kingdom; P v The United Kingdom; ECHR 2001 - [2001] 2 FLR 261; 35974/97; [2001] ECHR 298; 36337/97; [2001] 2 FCR 221; (2002) 34 EHRR 19; [2001] Fam Law 506; 11 BHRC 667 Re B (Disclosure to other parties); FD 2001 - [2001] 2 FLR 1017 In Re B and T (care proceedings: legal representation); CA 2001 - [2001] 1 FCR 512 In re S (A Child) (Family Division: Without Notice Orders); FD 2001 - [2001] 1 FLR 308; [2001] 1 WLR 211; [2001] 1 All ER 362 In Re H (A Child) (Adoption Disclosure): In Re G (A Child) (Adoption Disclosure) Times, 08 January 2001 8 Jan 2001 FD Children, Adoption There is no necessity that a father without parental rights must be notified of and heard in adoption proceedings. It was a question for each case, and in circumstances where a mother might justifiably refuse to disclose the identity of the natural father, in order to preserve confidentiality, adoption might proceed without the father being identified. Unless the situation was urgent, it would be appropriate for the authority in such circumstances to apply to the court for directions. The right of the father under the Children Act to apply for parental responsibility did not make him a parent under the Adoption Act. The court did however have the discretion to involve the father. He should be informed unless, for good reasons, it was inappropriate. Children Act 1989 - Adoption Act 1976 Mozes v Mozes [2001] USCA9 16; 239 F.3d 1067 (9th Cir. 2001) 9 Jan 2001 KOZINSKI and THOMAS, Circuit Judges, and ILLSTON, District Judge Children, International United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1 Citers [ Worldlii ] M (Child) [2001] EWCA Civ 458 11 Jan 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Re A (Non-Accidental Injury: Medical Evidence); Re C-F (a child) (retinal haemorrhages: non-accidental injury); FD 12-Jan-2001 - [2001] EWHC Fam 5; [2001] 2 FLR 657; [2001] 3 FCR 262; [2001] Fam Law 735 In Re O (A Child) [2001] EWCA Civ 16 15 Jan 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] In re C (A Child) [2001] EWCA Civ 59 17 Jan 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] D (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 71 17 Jan 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] T (a Child), In the Matter of [2001] NIEHC 6 19 Jan 2001 NIHC Northern Ireland, Children [ Bailii ] Re W and Another (Children) [2001] EWCA Civ 58 25 Jan 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Re T (Children) [2001] EWCA Civ 110 25 Jan 2001 CA Butler-Sloss D Children Application for leave to appeal against order for contact. [ Bailii ] In re P (A Child) [2001] EWCA Civ 147 31 Jan 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] E (a Child) and M (a Child), In the Matter of [2001] NIEHC 10 2 Feb 2001 NIHC Northern Ireland, Children [ Bailii ] In re P (A Child) [2001] EWCA Civ 154 5 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] L (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 151 5 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Re A (Family Proceedings: Expert Witnesses) [2001] EWHC Fam 7; (2001) 151 NLJ 224; [2001] 1 FLR 723; (2001) 98(16) LSG 32 6 Feb 2001 FD Wall J Children 1 Citers [ Bailii ] Re E (Children) [2001] EWCA Civ 142 7 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Re B and Another (Children) [2001] EWCA Civ 135 7 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] A (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 162 9 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Williams v Williams [2001] EWCA Civ 197 12 Feb 2001 CA Dame Butler-Sloss P FD, Hale, Arden LJJ Children [ Bailii ] Re S (Children) [2001] EWCA Civ 299 12 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] In re P (A Child) [2001] EWCA Civ 297 12 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] F-K (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 501 13 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] D (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 230 13 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] B (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 467 13 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Payne v Payne; P v P Gazette, 08 March 2001; [2001] Fam 473; [2001] EWCA Civ 166; (2001) 165 JP 195; [2001] HRLR 28; (2001) 165 JPN 466; [2001] 1 FCR 425; [2001] UKHRR 484; [2001] 2 WLR 1826; [2001] 1 FLR 1052; [2001] 1 Cr App R 36; [2001] Crim LR 842 13 Feb 2001 CA Thorpe LJ P, Walker LJ, Butler-Sloss LJ Children, Human Rights The mother applied for leave to return to New Zealand taking with the parties' daughter aged four. The father opposed the move, saying that allowing the move would infringe his and the child's right to family life. He had been refused residence. Held. The move was a serious interference with family life. The motivation of the parent, the reasonableness of the proposal, and the effects on the child were all important and relevant, but the judge had given proper consideration to these factors, and the paramountcy of the child's interests. Neither domestic case law nor human rights law created any presumption in favour of the applicant. Existing case law was to be reconsidered in the light of the 1998 Act. Thorpe LJ said: "the advent of the Convention within our domestic law does not necessitate a revision of the fundamental approach to relocation applications formulated by this court and consistently applied over so many years. The reason that I hold this opinion is that reduced to its fundamentals the court's approach is and always has been to apply child welfare as the paramount consideration. The court's focus upon supporting the reasonable proposal of the primary carer is seen as no more than an important factor in the assessment of welfare. In a united family the right to family life is a shared right. But once a family unit disintegrates the separating members' separate rights can only be to a fragmented family life. Certainly the absent parent has the right to participation to the extent and in what manner the complex circumstances of the individual case dictate." "In summary a review of the decisions of this court over the course of the last thirty years demonstrates that relocation cases have been consistently decided upon the application of the following two propositions: (a) the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration; and (b) refusing the primary carer's reasonable proposals for the relocation of her family life is likely to impact detrimentally on the welfare of her dependent children. Therefore her application to relocate will be granted unless the court concludes that it is incompatible with the welfare of the children . . Thus in most relocation cases the most crucial assessment and finding for the judge is likely to be the effect of the refusal of the application on the mother's future psychological and emotional stability." He continued: "However there is a danger that if the regard which the court pays to the reasonable proposals of the primary carer were elevated into a legal presumption then there would be an obvious risk of the breach of the respondent's rights not only under Article 8 but also his rights under Article 6 to a fair trial. To guard against the risk of too perfunctory an investigation resulting from too ready an assumption that the mother's proposals are necessarily compatible with the child's welfare I would suggest the following discipline as a prelude to conclusion: (a) Pose the question: is the mother's application genuine in the sense that it is not motivated by some selfish desire to exclude the father from the child's life. Then ask is the mother's application realistic, by which I mean founded on practical proposals both well researched and investigated? If the application fails either of these tests refusal will inevitably follow. (b) If however the application passes these tests then there must be a careful appraisal of the father's opposition: is it motivated by genuine concern for the future of the child's welfare or is it driven by some ulterior motive? What would be the extent of the detriment to him and his future relationship with the child were the application granted? To what extent would that be offset by extension of the child's relationships with the maternal family and homeland? (c) What would be the impact on the mother, either as the single parent or as a new wife, of a refusal of her realistic proposal? (d) The outcome of the second and third appraisals must then be brought into an overriding review of the child's welfare as the paramount consideration, directed by the statutory checklist insofar as appropriate. In suggesting such a discipline I would not wish to be thought to have diminished the importance that this court has consistently attached to the emotional and psychological well-being of the primary carer. In any evaluation of the welfare of the child as the paramount consideration great weight must be given to this factor." Children Act 1989 13(1)(b) - European Convention on Human Rights 6 8 - Human Rights Act 1998 1 Cites 1 Citers [ Bailii ] TV (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 296 14 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Al Habtoor v Fotheringham Times, 02 March 2001; [2001] EWCA Civ 186; [2001] 1 FCR 385; [2001] 1 FLR 951 15 Feb 2001 CA Thorpe, Laws LJJ, Penry-Davey J Children, International There is no jurisdiction in wardship over a child not habitually resident in England. A child born in England of and English mother and Dubai father had gone to live with his mother in Dubai at the invitation of the father, but had there retained the boy against the mother's will. The mother obtained certain orders in Dubai, but then returned to England. The court should give greater recognition to the judgments of foreign courts and refrain from grandiose assertions of jurisdictions. It was important to build bridges between Judeo Christian and Sharia legal traditions. Thorpe LJ advised that the court should be "extremely circumspect" and "must refrain from exhorbitant jurisdictional claims founded on nationality" over a child who was neither habitually resident nor present here, because such claims were outdated, eccentric and liable to put at risk the development of understanding and co-operation between nations. Family Law Act 1986 2 - Children Act 1989 1 Citers [ Bailii ] G (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 463 19 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] In Re O (A Child) (Supervision Order) Times, 20 February 2001 20 Feb 2001 CA Children In the light of the new Human Rights law, a supervision order would be preferable to a care order where a local authority sought to protect a child in the light of allegations of abuse or lack of care. Case law predating the new Act would not now be good guidance. The making of a care order would be severe in three respects: it would give power to allow the authority to remove a child, power to take parental control and responsibility, and to take such responsibilities over a longer period of time. Any such arrangements must be proportionate to the threat, and a supervision order should normally be sufficient. Human Rights Act 1998 - Children Act 1989 B (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 347 20 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] M (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 480 21 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] M (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 482 21 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] In Re A (Children) (Contact: Expert Evidence); FD 27-Feb-2001 - Times, 27 February 2001; Gazette, 20 April 2001 Regina v B (Child: Mode of trial for indecency) Times, 27 February 2001 27 Feb 2001 CACD Children, Criminal Practice A boy aged fourteen should not have been tried in the Crown Court for allegations of indecency when the complainants were also child witnesses. Such a procedure was not in the interests either of the defendant nor of the complainants. In this case also it could not have been thought that the sentencing powers of the Youth Court would be inadequate. T (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 283 28 Feb 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] In Re A (A Child) (Contact: Separate Representation); CA 28-Feb-2001 - Times, 28 February 2001 H-D (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 402 5 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] M (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 576 5 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] White v White; SCS 6-Mar-2001 - [2001] ScotCS 48; 2001 SC 689; 2001 Fam LR 21; 2001 SCLR 607; 2001 SLT 485 M (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 464 7 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] T (a Child) and R (a Child), In the Matter of [2001] NIEHC 23 9 Mar 2001 NIHC Northern Ireland, Children [ Bailii ] T (a Child), In the Matter of [2001] NIEHC 24 9 Mar 2001 NIHC Northern Ireland, Children [ Bailii ] C (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 479 12 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] T (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 438 13 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] E (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 478 13 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] N (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 477 14 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] G (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 420 19 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] A (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 500 29 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] D (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 503 29 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] E (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 567 29 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Regina (on the Application of AB and SB) v Nottingham City Council (2001) 4 CCLR 295; [2001] EWHC Admin 235 30 Mar 2001 Admn Richards J Children A local authoity's failure to fulfil its obligations may be the subject of a mandatory order in approriate cases. The Court ordered a local authority to carry out a full assessment of a child's needs in accordance with the guidance given by the Secretary of State in 'Framework for the Assessment of Children in Need and their Families' Children Act 1989 17 1 Citers [ Bailii ] U (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 565 30 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] A (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 561 30 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] E (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 451 30 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] J (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 564 30 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] M (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 562 30 Mar 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] In Re M (A Child: Secure Accommodation Order); CA 5-Apr-2001 - Times, 05 April 2001 K (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 553 5 Apr 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] J (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 490 6 Apr 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] B (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 578 11 Apr 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] B (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 577 11 Apr 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Re X (Non-Accidental Injury: Expert Evidence) [2001] EWHC Fam 6 11 Apr 2001 FD Children [ Bailii ] Regina (G) v Barnet London Borough Council Times, 05 June 2001; Gazette, 14 June 2001; [2001] EWCA Civ 540; (2001) 4 CCLR 128 11 Apr 2001 CA Ward LJ Housing, Children A mother and child from Holland were homeless in London. The mother was not entitled to be rehoused as a homeless person, nor to housing benefit, nor to income support, but sought the right to be housed with her child. The authority felt the best plan was to return the child to Holland. The duty under the Act to care for the child contained only a permissive power to care for the family. The obligation under s20 was to provide accommodation only. The decision to provide assistance to return the child could not be returned by a refusal of the mother into a duty to provide accommodation for both. Children Act 1989 17 20 23 1 Cites 1 Citers Re X (Non-Accidental Injury: Expert Evidence) [2001] EWHC Fam 1; [2001] 2 FLR 90 11 Apr 2001 FD Singer J Evidence, Children A child had been injured, and the local authority sought a care order. A expert witness for the parents had argued that the child may have suffered a condition of Temporary Brittle Bone Disease (TBBD). Held: Though the parents had been convicted before a criminal court, in fact there had been no finding of fact relevant to the current application. The expert evidence was quite unsatisfactory. TBBD is not recognised as a condition, and the expert's evidence was so tendentious as to call into question the validity of his claim to be an expert witness. The burden of proof of abuse lay upon the local authority but on the balance of probability. Though the injury could be safely ascribed to neither parent the threshold criteria had been reached and directions were given for further hearings. 1 Cites 1 Citers [ Bailii ] Re G (unreported) 11 April 2001 11 Apr 2001 CA Ward L.J Children 1 Citers In the Petition D for an Order Under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 [2001] ScotCS 92 20 Apr 2001 SCS Scotland, Children Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 [ Bailii ] In the Petition D for an Order Under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 20 Apr 2001 SCS T.G. Coutts, Q.C. Scotland, Children Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 [ ScotC ] B v The United Kingdom; P v The United Kingdom Times, 15 May 2001; 36337/97; 35974/97; (2002) 34 EHRR 529; [2001] 2 FLR 261; [2001] ECHR 295; [1999] ECHR 179; [2001] Fam Law 506; [2001] 2 FCR 221; 11 BHRC 667 24 Apr 2001 ECHR J-P Costa P, Loucaides, Kuris, Tulkens, Sir Nicolas Bratza, Greve and Mr K Traja JJ, and Dolle, Section Registrar Children, Human Rights, Administrative The procedures in English law which provided for privacy for proceedings involving children did not in general infringe the human right to family life, nor the right to a public hearing. Where relatives more distant than immediate parties were affected, the rules allowed application for their admission to the proceedings, and leave could also be sought to disclose the results of the proceedings to named parties. Custody and contact disputes were prime examples of situations where exclusion of the press and public could be justified to protect the interests of the child and parties to the case: "such proceedings are prime examples of cases where the exclusion of the press and public may be justified in order to protect the privacy of the child and parties and to avoid prejudicing the interests of justice. To enable the deciding judge to gain as full and accurate a picture as possible of the advantages and disadvantages of the various residence and contact options open to the child, it is essential that the parents and other witnesses feel able to express themselves candidly on highly personal issues without fear of public curiosity or comment � to pronounce the judgment in public would, to a large extent, frustrate these aims." Parties were expected to be candid and open about events, and that would be threatened if proceedings were held in public. European Convention on Human Rights 6.1 1 Cites 1 Citers [ Bailii ] - [ Bailii ] B (Children), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 625 25 Apr 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] MQ v BQ; FdNI 1-May-2001 - [2001] NIFam 11 H v H [2001] EWCA Civ 653 2 May 2001 CA Children, Contempt of Court [ Bailii ] Dombrowicz v Gray Or Dumbrowicz for an Order Under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985; SCS 2-May-2001 - [2001] ScotCS 103 D (A Child), Re [2001] EWCA Civ 742 3 May 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Re C (A Child) [2001] EWCA Civ 810 8 May 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Re R (A Child) [2001] EWCA Civ 857 8 May 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] Re C (A Child) [2001] EWCA Civ 718 8 May 2001 CA Children [ Bailii ] TP And KM v The United Kingdom; ECHR 10-May-2001 - 28945/95; (2001) 34 EHRR 42; [2001] ECHR 332; [2001] 2 FLR 549; (2001) 3 LGLR 52; [2001] 2 FCR 289; (2001) 4 CCL Rep 398; [2001] Fam Law 590 Re T (A Child) [2001] EWHC Fam 10 10 May 2001 FD Bodey J Children Application for an order that blood tests including DNA tests be used to ascertain whether such tests show that he is, or is not, excluded from being the father of T. It is an application made as a preliminary to his actual, or intended, application for parental responsibility and contact. He strongly believes, and claims, that he is the father. [ Bailii ] Z And Others v The United Kingdom Times, 31 May 2001; [2001] 2 FCR 246; 29392/95; [2001] 34 EHRR 97; [2001] 2 FLR 612; [2001] ECHR 329; [2001] ECHR 333; 10 BHRC 384; (2002) 34 EHRR 3 10 May 2001 ECHR Children, Human Rights 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 parents. Suspicions of abuse had arisen in 1987, but they were given effective support only in 1992. Held: The claim succeeded. The state had been in breach of its duty under Article 3 to protect them against inhuman or degrading treatment. The court upheld the commission's conclusion that the social services department had been aware that the children had been suffering such neglect as amounted to inhuman and degrading treatment and had failed to take reasonable steps to prevent its continuance: "The Court acknowledges the difficult and sensitive decisions facing social services and the important countervailing principle of respecting and preserving family life. The present case however leaves no doubt as to the failure of the system to protect these child applicants from serious, long-term neglect and abuse." Effective measures were particularly needed in the case of children and other vulnerable people. Because there was a serious doubt about the availability of a remedy through the courts, there was equally a failure to provide a remedy and accordingly a breach of Article 13. There was no breach or articles 6 or 8. Article 6(1) does not itself guarantee any particular content for civil rights and obligations in the substantive law of the Contracting States. "Article 6(1) extends only to contestations (disputes) over (civil) "rights and obligations" which can be said, at least on arguable grounds, to be recognised under domestic law; it does not itself guarantee any particular content for (civil) "rights and obligations" in the substantive law of the contracting states. It will however apply to disputes of a "genuine and serious nature" concerning the actual existence of the right as well as to the scope and manner in which it is exercised."
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