Where a patient lacks capacity, there is the power to provide him with whatever treatment or care is necessary in his own best interests. Medical treatment can be undertaken in an emergency even if, through a lack of capacity, no consent had been . .
A child (aged five) was placed in emergency foster care after his mother was detained in hospital under the Mental Health Act. The mother was then too unwell to discuss section 20. The local authority thought that there was no need to issue care . .
Parties challenged the rule allowing the respondent to deny the right to enter or remain here to non EU citizens marrying a person settled and present here where either party was under the age of 21. The aim of the rule was to deter forced . .
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Care orders etc may be made for any child within the jurisdiction wherever in fact they are resident. Citations: Gazette 05-Feb-1997, Times 10-Dec-1996 Statutes: Children Act 1989 Part IV Part V, Children Act 1989 Part IV Part V Children Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.82018
The defendant ship-owners contracted to lease the ship on charter to the plaintiffs. Before the term, the ship was requisitioned for the war effort. The plaintiffs did not exercise the contractual right given to them to cancel the charterparty. The charterparty embodied no specific date as the date for the initial delivery of the vessel; … Continue reading Bank Line Ltd v Arthur Capel and Co: HL 12 Dec 1918
The court considered the powers of the court in care proceedings where it did not approve the authority’s proposed care plan. The judge had made supervision orders in relation to both children coupled with an injunction restraining the mother from removing the children from the foster home in which the local authority had placed them. … Continue reading Re S and D (Child Care Powers of the Court ): CA 1995
An application was made for continued contact after a proposed adoption. The mother was young and had herself lost her family and taken into care when very young. Held: Her request for permission to appeal failed. Wall LJ said: ‘I am reasonably confident that in this particular case both sides understand the other’s position. When … Continue reading In re R (A Child): CA 18 Aug 2005
The mother sought to change the surname of the three children of the family from that of her divorced husband to that of the husband whom she had subsequently married. Her application for leave was refused by the circuit judge. She appealed. Held: The appeal failed. A change of children’s surname was refused despite clear … Continue reading In Re B (Minors) (Change of Surname): CA 1 Dec 1995
Prosecution to protect defendant not available The claimants faced extradition to the US. They said that the respondent had infringed their human rights by deciding not to prosecute them in the UK. There was no mutuality in the Act under which they were to be extradited. Held: The Director had a discretion as to whether … Continue reading Bermingham and others v The Director of the Serious Fraud Office: QBD 21 Feb 2006
A social worker arranged for L, a seriously troubled young person who had been evicted from her mother’s home, to live for a few days in an hotel. Held: As she had previously been looked after by the local authority for some time, this would be sufficient for her to become a relevant child under … Continue reading L, Regina (on the Application of) v Nottinghamshire County Council: Admn 26 Sep 2007
Mr Leander had been refused employment at a museum located on a naval base, having been assessed as a security risk on the basis of information stored on a register maintained by State security services that had not been disclosed him. Mr Leander complained that he should have been provided with the information in question, … Continue reading Leander v Sweden: ECHR 26 Mar 1987
PC (Anguilla) A first non-religious radio station had been formed, but came to include much criticism of the government. One programme was suspended by the government. The programme makers complained that this interfered with their constitutioinal and human rights to freedom of thought, freedom of expression and freedom from discrimination. Held: The motive in closing … Continue reading Benjamin, Vanderpool and Gumbs v The Minister of Information and Broadcasting and The Attorney General for Anguilla: PC 14 Feb 2001
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 revoke the placement order. Aware that they were doing … Continue reading In re F (A Child) (Placement Order); C v East Sussex County Council (Adoption): CA 1 May 2008
The OFT had considered whether it was necessary to refer a merger between two companies to the Competition Commission, and decided against. The Competition Appeal Tribunal held that the proposed merger should have been referred. The OFT and parties appealed. Held: The Tribunal had misdirected itself as to one test. The statutory test required the … Continue reading Office of Fair Trading and others v IBA Health Limited: CA 19 Feb 2004
The parties sought guidance from the court on the circumstances which arose in ancillary relief proceedings where a legal representative came to believe that one party might be holding the proceeds of crime. In the course of ancillary relief proceedings, the parties legal representatives concluded that some part of the matrimonial assets might represent the … Continue reading P v P (Ancillary Relief: Proceeds of Crime): FD 8 Oct 2003
The mother of the child on behalf of whom the application was made, was to face trial for murder. The child was in care and an order was sought to restrain publiction of material which might reveal his identity, including matters arising during the trial. Held: (Hale LJ dissenting) The court in this case was … Continue reading Re S (A Child): CA 10 Jul 2003
A tenancy of a flat was granted to Miss Vyas. She occupied it with Mr Sharma. They later married. She moved out and was given the tenancy of a council house elsewhere. She then wrote to Brent, the landlords, to say she was no longer sharing with Mr Sharma, that she had moved out and … Continue reading London Borough of Brent v Sharma and Vyas: CA 1992
Issue about the power of a local authority social services department to communicate to the education department of the authority and to school governors the conclusion which it has reached after enquiries under section 47 of the Children Act 1989 that a head teacher presents a risk of significant harm to children. Citations: [2001] EWCA … Continue reading A, Regina (on the Application Of) v Hertfordshire County Council: CA 22 Mar 2001
The defendant had appealed his conviction for murder to the Court of Appeal. The 1968 Act required the court to consider whether the conviction was unsafe. New evidence was before the Court of Appeal, but they had rejected the appeal. Held: The Court of Appeal should reach its own view based on the unadorned words … Continue reading Regina v Pendleton: HL 13 Dec 2001
The claimants sought damages from the defendant local authority after their identities had been wrongfully revealed to the natural parents of the adoptees leading to a claimed campaign of harassment. The adopters has specifically requested that their names and address be not revealed, but they details were let slip in a case conference. Both parties … Continue reading B and B v A County Council: CA 21 Nov 2006
The applicant and her husband had adopted a son. After problems he was taken into care and fostered. The council sought a contribution to the cost of care. The parent requested details as to the circumstances behind the application, and had relayed to them allegations against them. The allegations were withdrawn, and apologised for, but … Continue reading Waple v Surrey County Council: CA 17 Dec 1997
The claimant had produced the Star War films which made use of props, in particular a ‘Stormtrooper’ helmet designed by the defendant. The defendant had then himself distributed models of the designs he had created. The appellant obtained judgment against the respondent in the US for punitive damages, but these had not been collected, and … Continue reading Lucasfilm Ltd and Others v Ainsworth and Another: SC 27 Jul 2011
The court granted an appeal in care proceedings, but examined the relationship between the court and local authorities. There had been a late change in the proposed care plan and an application by grandparents to be made party. Some in the authority, and the guardian, wanted a stranger adoption, but the authority and the family … Continue reading Cheshire County Council and others v DS (Father) and others: CA 15 Mar 2007
The father was not married to the mother who, without consulting the father, registered the child in the name of her former husband by whom she had previously had two children. The father sought various orders under the Children Act, including a parental responsibility order and a specific issue order to change the child’s surname … Continue reading Dawson v Wearmouth: CA 31 Jul 1997
B had been taken from her parents at birth, the local authority anticipating a risk of harm. The mother had suffered violence at the hands of the father, and also had convictions for dishonesty and making false allegations. The judge had made a care order in relation to B on the basis of a care … Continue reading In re B (A Child): CA 14 Nov 2012
A residence order can not be accompanied by an order as to where a parent with care must live in the UK or with whom. An appeal may well arise in which a disappointed applicant will contend that section 13(1)(b) of the Children Act 1989 imposes a disproportionate restriction on a parent’s right to determine … Continue reading In re E (Minors) (Residence Orders: Imposition of Conditions): CA 30 Apr 1997
The judge should consider the checklist of relevant matters in the statute in a residence application even though no complaint was made by the parties. The use of the checklist can assist a court in obtaining clarity in its reasoning. Thoough an appeal court should be slow to interfere in a judge’s decision where his … Continue reading B v B (Minor: Residence Order): CA 6 Jun 1997
The social worker arranged for D, unable to live with her father because he was violent towards her, to live with his fomer partner. The court was asked whether the local authority had simply facilitated a private fostering arrangement, in which case they had no duty to maintain the child, or whether they had accommodated … Continue reading Southwark, London Borough of v D: CA 7 Mar 2007
The mother was seen to be unstable with a history of self harm, and with a violent association. Two older children were in care, and despite psychiatric evidence that she was improving the authority resisted a suggestion that there be a residential assessment, wishing to proceed straight to a final care order. The mother appealed … Continue reading Re M (Residential Assessment Directions): CA 1997
The parties had married, but the male partner was a transsexual, having been born female and having undergone treatment for Gender Identity Dysphoria. After IVF treatment, the couple had a child. As the marriage broke down the truth was revealed in court, but the plaintiff said that his wife had known the true position. He … Continue reading J v S T (Formerly J): CA 21 Nov 1996
C was born with a liver defect. After a failed operation, the parents, both caring health professionals, decided not to put him through major surgery again. The local authority and doctors obtained an order to allow a potentially life saving liver transplant. The parents now appealed. Held: The appeal succeeded.Butler-Sloss LJ said: ‘it is clear … Continue reading In re T (a Minor): CA 24 Oct 1996
An application was made by the local authority to take into care the daughter of a 15 year old mother. The question was whether any priority was to be given to the daughter’s interests when the mother herself was also a child. Held: When the upbringing of both mother and daughter was involved under the … Continue reading Birmingham City Council v H (A Minor): CA 1993
‘This case raises important questions about the extent to which the public should be able to read and see what disgruntled parents say when they speak out about what they see as deficiencies in the family justice system, particularly when, as here, their complaints are about the care system. The case also raises important questions … Continue reading Re J (A Child) (Reporting Restriction: Internet: Video): FD 5 Sep 2013
Interlocutory judgment in care proceedings under Part IV of the Children Act 1989 (‘CA’). The issue is whether criminal convictions for sexual abuse of a minor made by a Spanish court against the Mother’s husband, (‘E’), are admissible in these proceedings. E is not the father of the Mother’s children. Judges: Mrs Justice Lieven DBE … Continue reading AA v BB and Others: FD 12 Jul 2022
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 be involved. ‘the present case is seen not as some significant novelty requiring guidance … Continue reading B (A Child); Re C (Welfare of Child: Immunisation): CA 30 Jul 2003
Issues about the rights and duties of children’s guardians in care proceedings under Part IV of the Children Act 1989, with particular reference to the guardian’s right to examine and take copies of local authority documentation under CA 1989 section 42. It also raises the question of the duty of local authorities to impart information … Continue reading A Metropolitan Borough Council v JJ and Another: FD 9 May 2003
The claimant was disabled, and sought sterilisation because she feared the additional difficulties she would face as a mother. The sterilisation failed. She sought damages. Held: The House having considered the issue in MacFarlane only recently it was inappropriate to change the rules set down in that case. Nothing had been put forward to argue … Continue reading Rees v Darlington Memorial Hospital NHS Trust: HL 16 Oct 2003
The court considered the approval required for an order under the 2002 Act. Held: Welfare considerations were important but not paramount: ‘Given the permanent nature of the order under s.30, it seems reasonable that the court should adopt the ‘lifelong’ perspective of welfare in the Adoption and Children Act 2002 rather than the ‘minority’ perspective … Continue reading In re X and Y (Foreign Surrogacy): FD 9 Dec 2008
A child had died. The father was accused and acquitted of murder by way of shaken baby syndrome. The local authority persisted with an application for care orders for the other children. Held: ‘I do not claim to have divined truth. I have reached conclusions based on what I believe to have been proved to … Continue reading A Local Authority v S and W and T By her Guardian: FD 27 May 2004
The claimant had obtained orders against two companies who banked with the respondent. Asset freezing orders were served on the bank, but within a short time the customer used the bank’s Faxpay national service to transfer substantial sums outside the bank’s branch controls, and defeat the freezing order. The claimant sought recovery from the bank. … Continue reading Commissioners of Customs and Excise v Barclays Bank Plc: ComC 3 Feb 2004
Miss Singh challenged her school’s policy which operated to prevent her wearing while at school a steel bangle, a Kara. She said this was part of her religion as a Sikh. Held: Earlier comparable applications had been made under human rights law, but this was under the 1976 Act. The evidence established that the Sikh … Continue reading Watkins-Singh, Regina (on the Application of) v The Governing Body of Aberdare Girls’ High School and Another: Admn 29 Jul 2008
A contract of guarantee was made, but based upon a term of fundamental importance which was mistaken as to the existence of certain machines. Held: The court must first look to the nature of the purported agreement. Steyn J said: ‘Logically, before one can turn to the rules as to mistake, whether at common law … Continue reading Associated Japanese Bank (International) Ltd v Credit du Nord SA: 1988
Dame Elizabeth Butler-Sloss P said that in abuse cases, evidence: ‘cannot be evaluated in separate compartments. A judge in these difficult cases has to have regard to the relevance of each piece of evidence to other evidence and to exercise an overview of the totality of the evidence in order to come to the conclusion … Continue reading In In Re T (Abuse: Standard of Proof): CA 19 May 2004
The claimant had applied to the Child Support Agncy for maintenance. They failed utterly to obtain payment, and she complained now that she was denied the opportunity by the 1991 Act to take court proceedings herself. Held: The denial of access to the courts under section 8 did not engage her civil rights. The Act … Continue reading Secretary of State for Work and Pensions v Kehoe: CA 5 Mar 2004
Grand Chamber – The first applicant said he had been injured by a shot fired by a British soldier who had been carried for two miles into the Republic of Ireland, clinging to the applicant’s vehicle following an incident at a checkpoint. Held: Rules granting the State immunities, did not infringe the applicants’ right to … Continue reading McElhinney v Ireland; Al-Adsani v United Kingdom; Fogarty v United Kingdom: ECHR 21 Nov 2001
The court examined ‘a short but important point on the inter-relationship between the provisions of Part III of the Children Act 1989, headed ‘Local Authority Support for Children and Families’, and the homelessness provisions of Part VII of the Housing Act 1996, in particular sections 188 and 189, headed ‘Interim duty to accommodate”. Judges: Walll … Continue reading M, Regina (on the Application of) v Hammersmith and Fulham: CA 5 Jul 2006
The child was taken to hospital with injuries which the doctors concluded were non-accidental. The identity of the abuser was in doubt. Held: The court set out to identify the procedures in cases involving suspected non-accidental injuries where there was insufficient identification of the abuser. There are two parts to the threshold test, the harm … Continue reading North Yorkshire County Council v SA and others: CA 1 Jul 2003
There had been care proceedings as to C. The mother was treated by a psychiatrist, X, and an associate Y. They also prepared expert reports. M formally complained about X, and the charges having been dismissed, the doctors now sought disclosure of further medical recods from the care proceedings. His medical reputation had been severely … Continue reading Re C (A Child): FC 29 Sep 2015
The claimant had had foster care of two children. They were with temporary respite placements when the respondent decided to place in a different foster setting but without consulting the claimant or otherwise giving him notice. Held: (ex tempore) The request was granted. There was no general duty at common law to consult with a … Continue reading Bewry, Regina (on The Application of) v Norfolk County Council: Admn 6 Oct 2010
The court was asked upon whom falls the financial burden of providing accommodation to an eighteen year old asylum seeker who is also a ‘former relevant child’, to the extent that his welfare requires it, where the asylum seeker is not in education or training. Does it fall upon the local authority, pursuant to its … Continue reading SO, Regina (on The Application of) v London Borough of Barking and Dagenham: CA 12 Oct 2010
Application by a local authority for permission to withdraw care proceedings pursuant to FPR 1991 4.5; it is supported by the parents and by W (a party in his own right). The guardian advocates that no order should be made in this case but is less confident in (but does not seek to oppose) withdrawal … Continue reading WSCC v M and Others: FD 30 Jul 2010
The court was asked: ‘Was it unlawful for the Secretary of State for Health, the respondent, who had power to make provisions for the functioning of the National Health Service in England, to have failed to make a provision which would have enabled women who were citizens of the UK, but who were usually resident … Continue reading A and B, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Health: SC 14 Jun 2017
The Commission considered the admissibility of a complaint that the United Kingdom would violate articles 2, 3, 5, 6 and 8 if it extradited him to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Held: The application was manifestly ill-founded: ‘The Commission considers that it is only in exceptional circumstances that the extradition of a person to … Continue reading Launder v The United Kingdom: ECHR 8 Dec 1997
The appellant female prisoner asserted that the much smaller number of probation and bail hostels provided for women prisoners when released on licence was discriminatory in leaving greater numbers of women far removed from their families. Held: A declaration was granted: ‘The provision of Approved Premises in England and Wales by the Secretary of State … Continue reading Coll, Regina (on The Application of) v Secretary of State for Justice: SC 24 May 2017
The newspaper applied for leave to access documents referred to but not released during the course of extradition proceedings in open court. Held: The application was to be allowed. Though extradition proceedings were not governed by the Civil Procedure Rules, wider principles still applied. The open justice principle is a constitutional principle to be found … Continue reading Guardian News and Media Ltd, Regina (on The Application of) v City of Westminster Magistrates’ Court: CA 3 Apr 2012
Criminality of Assisting Suicide not Infringing The court was asked: ‘whether the present state of the law of England and Wales relating to assisting suicide infringes the European Convention on Human Rights, and whether the code published by the Director of Public Prosecutions relating to prosecutions of those who are alleged to have assisted a … Continue reading Nicklinson and Another, Regina (on The Application of): SC 25 Jun 2014
The claimant journalist sought disclosure of papers acquired by the respondent in its conduct of enquiries into the charitable Mariam appeal. The Commission referred to an absolute exemption under section 32(2) of the 2000 Act, saying that the exemption continued until the papers were destroyed, or for 20 years under the 1958 Act. Held: The … Continue reading Kennedy v The Charity Commission: SC 26 Mar 2014
The House considered the liability of main contractors on a construction site for the negligence of it sub-contractors.Lord Bridge said: ‘It is trite law that the employer of an independent contractor is, in general, not liable for the negligence or other torts committed by the contractor in the course of the execution of the work. … Continue reading D and F Estates v Church Commissioners for England: HL 14 Jul 1988
The defendants had been convicted on evidence obtained from them by inspectors with statutory powers to require answers on pain of conviction. Subsequently the law changed to find such activity an infringement of a defendant’s human rights. Held: There was no requirement for a court to implement a Human Rights Court decision retrospectively to require … Continue reading Regina v Lyons, Parnes, Ronson, Saunders: HL 15 Nov 2002
Procedures on Withdrawal of Life Support Treatment The patient had been severely injured in the Hillsborough disaster, and had come to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). The doctors sought permission to withdraw medical treatment. The Official Solicitor appealed against an order of the Court of Appeal permitting the action. Held: The appeal failed. … Continue reading Airedale NHS Trust v Bland: HL 4 Feb 1993
Lord Donaldson of Lymington MR said: ‘So it is not a case of parental right opposed to the interests of the child, with an assumption that parental right prevails unless there are strong reasons in terms of the interests of the child. It is the same test which is being applied, the welfare of the … Continue reading Re H (A Minor) (Custody: Interim Care and Control): CA 1991
Caim for judicial review brought by the mother of four children against a decision made by Birmingham City Council relating to payments to be made to her for both her benefit and that of the children, under provisions of the Children Act, in particular section 17, but also potentially section 20. The overall effect of … Continue reading AC, Regina (on the Application of) v Birmingham City Council: Admn 18 Nov 2008
Mrs. Nessa arrived at Heathrow aged 55 having lived all her life in Bangladesh. Her husband, Mr. Mobarak Ali, had lived in the United Kingdom from 1962 until he died in 1975 and when she arrived here, Mrs. Nessa had a right of abode. She hoped to live with her husband’s brother. Her three children, … Continue reading Nessa v Chief Adjudication Officer: HL 3 Nov 1999
The claimant challenged refusal by the defendant to provide financial support for his studies. Judges: Laws, McCombe LJJ, Sir Stanley Burnton Citations: [2013] EWCA Civ 960, [2013] WLR(D) 322 Links: Bailii, WLRD Statutes: Children Act 1989 23C(4) 24B(2) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Citing: Appeal from – Kebede and Another v Secretary of State for Business … Continue reading Kebede and Another, Regina (on The Application of) v Newcastle City Council: CA 31 Jul 2013
The court considered the ‘ongoing debate’ about the court’s role in contact disputes. ‘this case illustrates all too uncomfortably the failings of the system. There is much wrong with our system and the time has come for us to recognise that fact and to face up to it honestly. If we do not we risk … Continue reading F v M: FD 1 Apr 2004
The claimants had arrived as asylum seekers, and said that they were under eighteen, and entitled to assistance as children. The social workers decided that they were older. The claimants said that insufficient attention had been given to paediatricians’ reports. Held: The paediatricians’ views should be taken into account but they were not likely to … Continue reading A v London Borough of Croydon; Regina (WK) v Kent County Council: Admn 8 May 2009
The applicant sought an order restraining publication by the defendants of material, saying she did not have capacity to consent to the publication. She suffered a multiple personality disorder. She did herself however clearly wish the film to be broadcast, and she wished to criticise her care. Held: An injunction was refused. ‘If Pamela has … Continue reading E v Channel Four, News International Ltd and St Helens Borough Council: FD 1 Jun 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: Documents showed a readiness in the defendant to seek to manipulate the claimant through threats … Continue reading McKennitt and others v Ash and Another: QBD 21 Dec 2005
W, a child of 14 sought judicial review of an order to remove persons under the age of 16 from dispersal areas in Richmond. Held: The issue was whether the power given to police to remove youths was permissive or coercive. The power given ‘is exercisable whenever a person who is believed on reasonable grounds … Continue reading Regina on the Application of PW v Commissioner of Police for the Metropolis, The London Borough of Richmond-Upon-Thames: Admn 20 Jul 2005
The mother appealed against a residence order granting the father equal time with the child, saying that she wished to move away. Held: Wall LJ examined the authorities.Wall LJ P said: ‘In twenty years time it will not matter a row of beans whether or not L spent x or y hours more with one … Continue reading ETS v BT; in re T (A child); In Re L (a child) (internal relocation: shared residence order: CA 28 Jan 2009
The parents were suspected of causing the child non-accidental injury. The court wanted a residential assessment of the family, but the local authority refused, saying it would be too expensive, and would expose the child to continuing risk. The judge made an interim care order and gave an order for a residential assessment. The parents … Continue reading In Re C (A Minor) (Interim Care Order: Residential Assessment): HL 29 Nov 1996
Proposed changes to the Legal Aid regulations were challenged as being invalid, for being discriminatory. If regulations are not authorised under statute, they will be invalid, even if they have been approved by resolutions of both Houses under the provisions of the relevant enabling Act. Held: The appeal succeeded as to the ultra vires issue.Lord … Continue reading The Public Law Project, Regina (on The Application of) v Lord Chancellor: SC 13 Jul 2016
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. Judges: Mummery LJ, Wall LJ Citations: [2008] EWCA Civ 1078 Links: Bailii Statutes: Children … Continue reading In re S (A Child): CA 12 Aug 2008
The court was asked as to what methods of physical restraint were proper in institutions accommodating youths in custody. Held: The Court had been wrong not to quash the amended rules on the grounds of procedural breaches. The amended rules would have infringed the human rights of the children to whom such restraint was to … Continue reading C, Regina (on the Application of) v Secretary of State for Justice: CA 28 Jul 2008
When ordering a local authority to pay the costs of residential assessment of mother and child, the court should allow for these factors. It must be assessment not treatment, in long term interests of the child, to enable court to decide and not unreasonable. As to Re C: ‘ . . it does seem to … Continue reading In Re M (Residential Assessment Directions): FD 23 Sep 1998
The mediator who had acted in attempting to resolve the dispute between the parties sought to have set aside a witness summons issued by the claimant who sought to have the mediated agreement set aside for economic duress. Held: In this case the balance was in favour of the mediator giving the evidence requested. In … Continue reading Farm Assist Ltd v Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (No 2): TCC 19 May 2009
The mother appealed against a refusal of an order allowing her to remove her son to live with her in Northern Ireland. Held: Thorpe LJ said that the relief appropriately to be sought by the objecting parent is a prohibited steps order. Judges: Thorpe, Lloyd, Toulson LJJ Citations: [2007] EWCA Civ 1055, [2008] Fam Law … Continue reading In re B (A Child) (Prohibited Steps Order): CA 24 Jul 2007
The court looked at the role of the official solicitor in Part IV proceedings when giving his consent to act and when acting for a parent when that parent is alleged to lack litigation capacity and is said to be a ‘protected party’ within the meaning of the court rules. Held: There had not been … Continue reading RP v Nottingham City Council (Includes Official Solicitor Statement): CA 8 May 2008
A supervision order had been made for twelve months. There was a concern at contact with the mother’s mother’s partner. The father appealed refusal of an order extending the period to three years. Held: Such an order was permissible. Judges: Lord Justice Thorpe, Lady Justice Arden and Lord Justice Hughes Citations: [2008] EWCA Civ 199, … Continue reading T (A Child) v Wakefield Metropolitan District Council: CA 19 Mar 2008
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 be applied to avoid … Continue reading In re S (a Child) (Identification: Restrictions on Publication): HL 28 Oct 2004
The appellants were magazines and journalists who published, after committal proceedings, the name of a witness, a member of the security services, who had been referred to as Colonel B during the hearing. An order had been made for his name not to be disclosed during the hearing, but the court had had no power … Continue reading Attorney-General v Leveller Magazine Ltd: HL 1 Feb 1979
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 children aged 16 and 17 without support from their families. The 1989 Act referred to … Continue reading M, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham: HL 27 Feb 2008
The claimants appealed an order finding that the defendant had acquired their land by adverse possession. They said that the defendant had asserted in defence to possession proceedings that they were tenants, and that this contradicted an intent to deny the claimants’ title. Held: The appeal failed. A finding by the ECHR that a particular … Continue reading Ofulue and Another v Bossert: CA 29 Jan 2008
The applicant had been detained pending his extradition. He complained that that continued detention became unlawful after fundamantal changes in the case. The telephone intercepts which were the basis of the extradition had been ruled unlawful and inadmissible against a co-accused in the extraditing country, Spain. Held: The appeal failed. ‘The question whether there is … Continue reading Hilali, Re; Regina (Hilali) v Governor of Whitewall Prison and Another: HL 30 Jan 2008
A residential assessment order had been made under the 1989 Act in care proceedings. When the centre recommended a second extension of the assessment, the council refused, saying that the true purpose was not the assessment of the child but the treatment of the mother. Held: The appeal succeeded: ‘the main purpose of the proposed … Continue reading Kent County Council v G and others: HL 24 Nov 2005
Once the threshhold criteria for a care order have been met, the court must still enquire on an application for an interim care order, as to whether there is an imminent risk of really serious harm to the child, whether the risk to the child’s safety requires the immediate separation requested. Judges: Thorpe LJ, Lawrence … Continue reading In re H (A Child) (Interim Care Order): CA 12 Dec 2002
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: … Continue reading British Broadcasting Corporation v CAFCASS Legal and others: FD 30 Mar 2007
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 … Continue reading In re B (A child) (Care proceedings: Diplomatic Immunity): FD 30 Jul 2002
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 … Continue reading Re G, S and M (Wasted Costs): FD 20 Sep 1999
The father appealed an award of periodical payments to a former partner. She had a child by an earlier relationship. The father was immensely rich and during the relationship made financial provision for the child by the earlier relationship also. The order now appealed continued that. The father said that the court had wrongly interfered … Continue reading Morgan v Hill: CA 28 Nov 2006
The child had been born to parents who married and later divorced in Romania. The mother brought him to England without the father’s consent, and now appealed an order for his return. Held: The mother’s appeal succeeded. The Convention required an order to be made for the return of a child only where the parent … Continue reading In re D (A Child), (Abduction: Rights of Custody): HL 16 Nov 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. Held: The protection given by the order against identification of the child did not continue beyond the … Continue reading Clayton v Clayton: CA 27 Jun 2006
The court considered the duties on the respondent in providing an enhanced criminal record certificate. In one case, the claimant had brought up her son who was made subject to child protection procedures for neglect. Her job involved supervising children at lunch time at a school. In the second case, a school head teacher had … Continue reading L, Regina (on the Application of) v Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis: Admn 19 Mar 2006
The occupier had been granted a temporary licence by the authority under the homelessness provisions whilst it made its assessment. The assessment concluded that she had become homeless intentionally, and therefore terminated the licence and set out to evict her. She claimed that the authority had to get a court authority before so evicting her. … Continue reading Desnousse v London Borough of Newham and others: CA 17 May 2006
The several defendants complained at the use at their trials of evidence given anonymously. The perceived need for anonymity arose because, from intimidation, the witnesses would not be willing to give their evidence without it. Held: The anonymity ruling did not prevent proper investigation with the witnesses in open court of the essential elements of … Continue reading Regina v Davis (Iain); Regina v Ellis, Regina v Gregory, Regina v Simms, Regina v Martin: CACD 19 May 2006
The claimant had been accused with others of arson to school property. He was suspended for the maximum forty five day period. The school then invited the family to discuss arrangements to return to the school, but the family did not attend. After the expiry of the forty five days, the criminal proceedings were discontinued. … Continue reading Ali v Head Teacher and Governors of Lord Grey School: HL 22 Mar 2006
The applicant had left care, but still received assistance. She was arrested and the police asked the attending social worker to arrange secure accommodation overnight. The respondent refused. The court was asked what duty (if any) is owed by local authorities to provide ‘secure accommodation’ for arrested juveniles whom they are requested to receive under … Continue reading M, Regina (on the Application of) v Gateshead Council: CA 14 Mar 2006
The claimants, mother and son, sought damages from the respondent after they had commenced care proceedings resulting in the son being taken into temporary care. The authority had wrongly suspected abuse. The boy was later found to suffer brittle bone disease. Held: The court could not have made the interim order sought without first concluding … Continue reading AD and OH (A Child) v Bury Metropolitan Borough Council: CA 17 Jan 2006
In two separate actions, fathers with parental responsibility sought orders requiring the mothers of their children to ensure they received the MMR vaccine. Each mother objected, having suspicions as to the safety of the treatment. Specific issue orders were sought. Held: The court found the evidence given by the expert for the mother’s unconvincing. There … Continue reading A and D v B and E: FD 13 Jun 2003