Judges: Thorpe, Wall, Patten LJJ Citations: [2009] EWCA Civ 1405, [2010] 1 FCR 305, (2010) 112 BMLR 101, [2010] Fam Law 235 Links: Bailii Statutes: Children Act 1989 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Children Updated: 11 August 2022; Ref: scu.392511
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
Twins were conjoined (Siamese). Medically, both could not survive, and one was dependent upon the vital organs of the other. Doctors applied for permission to separate the twins which would be followed by the inevitable death of one of them. The parents, devout Roman Catholics, resisted. Held: The parents’ views were subject to the overriding … Continue reading In Re A (Minors) (Conjoined Twins: Medical Treatment); aka In re A (Children) (Conjoined Twins: Surgical Separation): CA 22 Sep 2000
The child’s guardian and the local authority sought leave to appeal against dismissal of an application for an interim care order. Judges: Thorpe, Wall LJJ Citations: [2009] EWCA Civ 1254 Links: Bailii Statutes: Children Act 1989 38 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Children Updated: 05 August 2022; Ref: scu.381456
Hair-testing of mother for drug abuse allegation during care proceedings. Judges: Baker J Citations: [2012] EWHC 2548 (Fam) Links: Bailii Statutes: Children Act 1989 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Children Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.464866
The Court allowed an appeal by parents against a judge’s conclusion that their children had suffered and were likely to suffer significant harm and it remitted the issue for re-hearing. The professional evidence had been that the parents’ deficiencies had had ‘subtle and ambiguous consequences’ for the children. Such consequences could not amount to significant … Continue reading Re L (Children), (Care Proceedings: Significant Harm): CA 25 Aug 2006
The appellant had been dismissed from the social services department of Haringey Borough Council, and her name placed on a list of persons unsuitable to work with children. She had been criticised in the statutory inquiry into the death of Victoria Climbie. She had led the team of social workers. The Secretary of State appealed … Continue reading Secretary of State for Education and Skills v Mairs: Admn 25 May 2005
The duty placed on social services authority under Children Act 1989 s17 is a target duty owed to children in general and not justiciable by judicial review – no duty in law to meet assessed needs by providing alternative accommodation for the whole family. As to the decision in Horvath, the system must provide for … Continue reading Banomova v Secretary of State for Home Department: CA 25 May 2001
The applicant was mother of three children, two of whom were autistic. She sought re-housing from the defendant. It was claimed that s17 imposed a specific duty on the authority, having identified a child’s needs, in this case for re-housing, to satisfy them. Held: The structure the section is general, and point very clearly to … Continue reading A v The London Borough of Lambeth: Admn 25 May 2001
A contact order had been properly granted with an order freeing the child for adoption. Butler-Sloss LJ: ‘The effect of an order freeing a child for adoption is to extinguish parental responsibility of those previously endowed with it and thus to bring to an end the relationship between the child and his natural family (see … Continue reading In Re A (A Minor) (Adoption: Contact Order): CA 24 Jun 1993
The legal aid board could refuse to grant legal aid to children involved in proceedings to refuse contact to a parent, because the regulations which applied were sufficiently widely drawn to allow a discretion to the local authority to pay the costs. In such circumstances it was not unreasonable for legal aid to be refused. … Continue reading E v Legal Aid Board, Ex P W et Al (Minors): QBD 25 Nov 1999
K, aged 16, had left home to join what was said to be a religious sect. His whereabouts were unknown. He had been made a ward of court and the Official Solicitor was appointed to represent his interests. He had sent messages to say that he was well and did not wish to return. The … Continue reading Kelly (A Minor) v British Broadcasting Corporation: FD 25 Jul 2000
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 be in public. Held: The applicant and her solicitors had already made significant … Continue reading Kent County Council v The Mother, The Father, B (By Her Children’s Guardian); Re B (A Child) (Disclosure): FD 19 Mar 2004
The Court of Appeal had imposed conditions upon the care plan to be implemented by the local authorities, identifying certain ‘starred’ essential milestones. The local authorities appealed. Held: This was not a legitimate extension of the powers contained in the 1989 Act. There exist clear problems in local authorities implementing care plans, and those difficulties … Continue reading Re S (Children: Care Plan); In re W and B (Children: Care plan) In re W (Child: Care plan): HL 14 Mar 2002
As part of the modernisation and reform of civil procedure, all the principal Court of Appeal practice directions are consolidated now into this one document handed down by the court.‘2. Permission to appeal2.1 When is permission required?2.1.1. Most appeals require the permission of the court below (the court which made the decision which is challenged) … Continue reading Practice Direction (Court of Appeal) (Civil Division): CA 19 Apr 1999
An option to take a tenancy of a property was not sufficient to constitute ‘premises’ for the Act. The section presupposed existence of premises which could be inspected and approved, and on which a registration could be based Citations: Gazette 25-Nov-1998 Statutes: Children Act 1989 71(1)(b) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Licensing Updated: 10 May 2022; … Continue reading Jenkins v Essex County Council: FD 25 Nov 1998
Immediately after a child was born, the social worker began proceedings for it to be taken into care. The judge severely criticised the actions of the social worker before the birth. The local authority now appealed against an order at the conclusion of care proceedings that they should pay each parent damages in the sum … Continue reading In re V (a Child) (Care: pre-birth actions): CA 12 Oct 2004
Courts should take additional powers under the Act for the management and implementation of care plans made in care proceedings. In these cases, an order had been made on the basis of a care plan which subsequently proved impossible to implement, and in the second case, decisions might better have been deferred until some situation … Continue reading In Re W and B (Children: Care Plan) In Re W (Child: Care Plan): CA 7 Jun 2001
Acquisition of Habitual Residence Habitual residence can in principle be lost and another habitual residence acquired on the same day. Held: The provisions giving the courts of a member state jurisdiction also apply where there is an alternative jurisdiction in a non-member state such as the United States. The Regulation also deals with how child … Continue reading A v A and another (Children) (Children: Habitual Residence) (Reunite International Child Abduction Centre intervening): SC 9 Sep 2013
The mother fled Pakistan and secured asylum here, proving a well founded fear of persecution if she returned. She had brought her son. The father applied for the child to be returned for the courts there to decide his future, saying he had been abducted. Held: To order the return of the child anticipating the … Continue reading In re H (a Minor) (Child abduction: Mother’s Asylum): FD 25 Jul 2003
The court had already made an order about the way in which the health professionals were able to look after a severely disabled baby girl; an injunction was granted prohibiting identification of the child, her parents, her current carers and the hospital where she was being looked after. Although the child herself would know nothing … Continue reading Re C (Wardship: Medical Treatment) (No 2): CA 1989
‘The principal issue arising on this appeal in care proceedings concerning a little girl, L, is whether the process by which the recorder reached the conclusion that the threshold criteria under s.31 of the Children Act 1989 were satisfied was fair. The appellant, Z, who is L’s father, contends that certain of the findings made … Continue reading Re L (Fact-Finding Hearing: Fairness): CA 17 Feb 2022
The duty imposed by section 17 of the Act on local authorities to safeguard and promote the welfare of children is a general duty only, and is not capable of being enforced for the benefit of a particular child by way of judicial review. As a so called target duty decisions made by the local … Continue reading Regina (A) v Lambeth London Borough Council: QBD 25 May 2001
A local authority did not have the right to exclude solicitor representatives from child protection case conferences, and must provide minutes of any part of a meeting from which the parent is excluded. To do so would be to fail to follow the guidelines set out by the Secretary of State, which the authority was … Continue reading Regina v Cornwall County Council, Ex P L: QBD 25 Nov 1999
The father appealed an order refusing him direct contact with the child. The judge had made the order because he considered that the mother’s hostility to contact made it likely that her health would suffer if contact was ordered, and that the children’s health would suffer in turn. Held: The appeal was allowed. Stopping a … Continue reading In Re P (Minors) (Contact): CA 15 May 1996
Where because of mental and other health problems, a natural, unmarried, father was incapable of discharging the duties and functions of a parent properly, there was no overriding need to make a parental responsibility order. Citations: Times 25-May-1999 Statutes: Children Act 1989 4(1) 3(1) Children Updated: 08 April 2022; Ref: scu.81954
Reasons for directing a re-consideration of findings of fact made within Part IV Children Act 1989 care proceedings, following an investigation into the cause of life-threatening injuries to a 10 month old baby boy. Cobb J [2016] EWHC 326 (Fam) Bailii England and Wales Children Updated: 10 January 2022; Ref: scu.560255
HHJ Hillier [2014] EWFC B142 Bailii Children Act 1989 38(2) Children Updated: 24 December 2021; Ref: scu.540364
Application for care orders, after father of one of the children being found to have abused her. Edwards HHJ [2014] EWFC B161 Bailii Children Act 1989 Children Updated: 24 December 2021; Ref: scu.540365
The court was asked as to the scope of a local authority’s power to provide services to a child in need under s17 of the 1989 Act. Lord Dyson MR, Floyd, King LJJ [2014] EWCA Civ 1518 Bailii Children Act 1989 17 England and Wales Children Updated: 23 December 2021; Ref: scu.539133
‘This appeal concerns the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. It raises general questions relating to: (1) the place which the habitual residence of the child occupies in the scheme of that Convention, and (2) whether and when a wrongful retention of a child may occur if the travelling parent originally … Continue reading Re C (Children): SC 14 Feb 2018
The claimant sought to enforce a judgment debt against a foreign resident company, and for this purpose to examine or have examined a director who lived abroad. The defendant said that the rules gave no such power and they did, the power was outside the rule-maker’s power. Held: Even though the rule-making power is wide … Continue reading Masri v Consolidated Contractors International Co Sal and Others: HL 30 Jul 2009
Originating summons in the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court asking for an order granting permission to interview two young girls, represented by CAFCASS Legal. The third defendant is the children’s mother, NP. The local authority in which the children and their mother reside, Manchester City Council, has also been represented as an interested party. … Continue reading Greater Manchester Chief Constable v KI and Another (Children) and others: FD 26 Jul 2007
[2005] EWCA Civ 170, [2005] 2 FLR 166, [2005] Fam Law 463 Bailii Children Act 1989 England and Wales Children, International Updated: 17 November 2021; Ref: scu.408803
The court considered whether discriminatory acts after the termination of employment were caught by the respective anti-discrimination Acts. The acts included a failure to give proper references. They pursued claims on the basis of victimisation after their primary discrimination claims. Held: The 1975 and 1976 Acts were similarly phrased and the wording in the 1995 … Continue reading Relaxion Group plc v Rhys-Harper; D’Souza v London Borough of Lambeth; Jones v 3M Healthcare Limited and three other actions: HL 19 Jun 2003
The parties had been a lesbian couple each with children. Each now was in a new relationship. One registered the two daughters of the other at a school now local to her but without first consulting the birth mother, who then applied for residence and or contact. The other mother took the children secretly to … Continue reading In Re G (A Minor) (Interim Care Order: Residential Assessment); G (Children), In Re (Residence: Same Sex Partner): HL 26 Jul 2006
Three claims for judicial review concerning the Defendant local authority’s obligations to provide accommodation under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 for unaccompanied asylum seekers pending the completion of assessments of their age. In each case the Defendant declined to accommodate the Claimant under s.20 of the Children Act 1989 on the grounds that … Continue reading AB and Others, Regina (on The Application of) v London Borough of Brent: Admn 25 Oct 2021
(Plenary Court) The applicant was held in prison in the UK, pending extradition to the US to face allegations of murder, for which he faced the risk of the death sentence, which would be unlawful in the UK. If extradited, a representation would be made to the judge at the time of sentencing that the … Continue reading Soering v The United Kingdom: ECHR 7 Jul 1989
Bingham LJ discussed the nature of frustration of contract: ‘The essence of frustration is that it is caused by some unforeseen supervening event over which the parties to the contract have no control and for which they are therefore not responsible. To say that the supervening event occurs without the default or blame or responsibility … Continue reading Lauritzen A/A v Wijsmuller BV;( ‘The Super Servant Two’): CA 12 Oct 1989
Single Sex Schooling failed to prepare for life The Chief Inspector appealed from a decision that it was discriminatory under the 2010 Act to educate girls and boys in the same school but under a system providing effective complete separation of the sexes. Held: The action was discriminatory. However, the scheme operated against individuals, both … Continue reading Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills v The Interim Executive Board of Al-Hijrah School: CA 13 Oct 2017
Balance of probabilities remains standard of proof There had been cross allegations of abuse within the family, and concerns by the authorities for the children. The judge had been unable to decide whether the child had been shown to be ‘likely to suffer significant harm’ as a consequence. Having found some evidence to suggest that … Continue reading In re B (Children) (Care Proceedings: Standard of Proof) (CAFCASS intervening): HL 11 Jun 2008
Notice of dismissal begins when received by worker The court was asked: ‘If an employee is dismissed on written notice posted to his home address, when does the notice period begin to run? Is it when the letter would have been delivered in the ordinary course of post? Or when it was in fact delivered … Continue reading Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust v Haywood: SC 25 Apr 2018
The Court was asked whether the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (‘the Commissioner’) owes a duty to her officers, in the conduct of proceedings against her based on their alleged misconduct, to take reasonable care to protect them from . .
The employer appealed an award of ten thousand pounds including aggravated damages, and other elements after a finding of sex discrimination. They also awarded six hundred pounds in interest. It was asserted that Scots law did not allow for . .
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 . .
Appeal against an order made after an agreement within the family that the children should live with the paternal grandmother.
Orse In re W (Parental Agreement with Local Authority)
The mother had placed her three children with their . .
Children appealed against dismissal of their care proceedings on the basis that the threshold had not been reached. The parents resisted.
Held: It could not be said that the decision so plainly wrong that the judge’s conclusion on the facts . .
The claimant sought to challenge the policy that a 17 year old under arrest was to be treated as an adult for interview purposes, even though at every other stage of a criminal investigation and prosecution, he would be treated as a child. He had . .
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 . .
Appeal against order as to media arrangements for fact finding hearing.
McFarlane LJ said: ‘In the present case, Jackson J used the power available to him to move from the default position so as to allow a controlled degree of publicity. This . .
The parties had lived together as a married couple. They had had a child together by artificial insemination. It was then revealed that Mr J was a woman. The parties split up, and Mr J applied for an order for contact with the child.
Held: The . .
Care proceedings . .
The father appealed against orders made in the county court in the course of child contact enforcement proceedings. He had residence of the child, but had repeatedly failed to make his son available for contact at the times ordered causing financial . .
References: [2014] EWFC B142 Links: Bailii Coram: HHJ Hillier Statutes: Children Act 1989 38(2)
References: [2014] EWFC B161 Links: Bailii Coram: Edwards HHJ Application for care orders, after father of one of the children being found to have abused her. Statutes: Children Act 1989
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Application for secure accommodation order is family proceeding-hearsay admissible. Citations: Gazette 29-Apr-1992 Statutes: Children Act 1989 25 92(2) Jurisdiction: England and Wales Children Updated: 09 July 2022; Ref: scu.88354
Justices cannot make a three month secure accommodation order after an earlier one month interim order. The total order must not exceed three months. Citations: Times 24-May-1994, Ind Summary 20-Jun-1994 Statutes: Children Act 1989 25 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Children, Magistrates Updated: 19 May 2022; Ref: scu.78797
Citations: Ind Summary 27-Feb-1995, Times 10-Feb-1995 Statutes: Criminal Justice Act 1991 60(3), Children Act 1989 25 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Children Updated: 15 May 2022; Ref: scu.83099
On making a secure accommodation order, the welfare of the child is a relevant but not the paramount consideration. The Court referred to the responsibility of reaching ‘so serious and Draconian a decision as the restriction upon the liberty of the child’. Citations: Times 15-Nov-1994, [1995] 1 FLR 418 Statutes: Children Act 1989 25 Jurisdiction: … Continue reading In Re M (A Minor) (Secure Accommodation Order): CA 15 Nov 1994
The period of a secure accommodation order runs from the date of the order and not the date in which the child was in fact placed in the secure accomodation. Citations: Times 27-May-1994 Statutes: Children Act 1989 25 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Children Updated: 28 April 2022; Ref: scu.81711
A children’s clinic is not secure accommodation, and the court may make orders for his or her treatment whilst in the clinic. The court discussed whether the state had power if necessary to detain a child using its parens patriae powers to give necessary medical treatment. Wall J analysed the permissible use of force in … Continue reading In Re C (A Minor) (Medical Treatment: Court’s Jurisdiction); Re C (Detention: Medical Treatment): FD 21 Mar 1997
An order providing that a child should stay in secure accommodation, was an order which restricted the child’s liberty. A justification for such a restriction had to be brought within the exceptions listed in article 5. Held: Detention for educational supervision was permitted, and such supervision was not restricted to education in the sense of … Continue reading In Re K (A Child) (Secure Accommodation Order: Right to Liberty): CA 29 Nov 2000
A child bailed to a Local Authority may be made subject to a secure accommodation order. Citations: Times 05-Jul-1994 Statutes: Children Act 1989 25 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Children Updated: 18 April 2022; Ref: scu.81775
The court was asked whether K, a 13-year-old girl, should attend the hearing of an application by her local authority to keep her in secure accommodation for three months. She wanted to be at the hearing, but the local authority opposed her attendance on welfare grounds. Held: The child should be allowed to attend: ‘the … Continue reading In re K (A Child): FD 16 May 2011
Application made by the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham for a secure accommodation order pursuant to s.25 of the Children Act 1989. . .
Application for judicial review of a purported decision by X Council to continue to detain FD, a girl who is 14 years and 5 months, in secure accommodation. . .
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
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
Three applicants had lied on entry to secure admission, stayed for a considerable time, and had been treated as illegal immigrants under section 33(1). The fourth’s claim that upon being returned he would been killed, had been rejected without investigation. Held: A claim to refugee status was not an exception to the ban on appeals … Continue reading Regina v Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Bugdaycay: HL 19 Feb 1986
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
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 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 child appealed against an order that rather than be placed for adoption, he be placed with his grandparents. Judges: Jacob, Wilson LJJ Citations: [2009] EWCA Civ 72, [2009] 1 FLR 1425, [2009] Fam Law 400 Links: Bailii Statutes: Children Act 1989 Jurisdiction: England and Wales Children Updated: 23 July 2022; Ref: scu.293903
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 court declined appeals against findings that local authorities through social workers could properly assess whether the claimants were under eighteen and entitled, though asylum seekers, to housing provision and support under the 1989 Act. Judges: Ward, maurice Kay LJJ, Sir John Chadwick Citations: [2008] EWCA Civ 1445, [2009] PTSR 1011, [2009] ACD 17, [2009] … Continue reading A, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Croydon: CA 18 Dec 2008
The Home Secretary had issued directives to the BBC and IBA prohibiting the broadcasting of speech by representatives of proscribed terrorist organisations. The applicant journalists challenged the legality of the directives on the ground that they were incompatible with the ECHR, and also on the ground that they were disproportionate in going beyond the established … Continue reading Regina v Secretary of State for the Home Department ex parte Brind: HL 7 Feb 1991
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 claimants, a newspaper and its editor sought judicial review of a refusal to stay private prosecutions brought against them alleging breach of requirements that they not identify children involved in court proceedings, in this case those of the prosecutor. Held: This was ‘a clear case where the court’s conscience is offended by the fact … Continue reading Dacre and Another v City of Westminster Magistrates Court and others: Admn 16 Jul 2008
Challenge to the alleged ongoing refusal by the defendant to acknowledge its obligations to her under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 and therefore its alleged ongoing failure to comply with its obligations to her as a looked after, and therefore an eligible, child for the purposes of the leaving care provisions. Citations: [2008] … Continue reading M, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Barnet: Admn 6 Aug 2008
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 council cancelled the respondent’s registration as a child minder. The respondent appealed to the Magistrates, and succeeded, the court finding that the process undertaken by the council had infringed his rights. On appeal the council succeeded. The magistrates should have looked beyond procedural issues. The appeal to them required a hearing de novo. The … Continue reading Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council v Grant: FD 17 Sep 2001
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 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
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 … Continue reading S, Regina (on the Application of) v London Borough of Sutton: CA 26 Jul 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: … Continue reading British Broadcasting Corporation v CAFCASS Legal and others: FD 30 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 … Continue reading Re L and H (Residential Assessment); CT and Another v Bristol City Council and others: CA 14 Mar 2007
The local authority had refused to register a childminder, who successfully appealed to the magistrates, who awarded costs in her favour. The local authority appealed against the costs order. In doing so the authority urged the court to apply, by analogy, the principle that costs are not usually ordered in child cases. Held: The appeal … Continue reading Sutton London Borough Council v Davis (Number 2): FD 8 Jul 1994
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 … Continue reading Southwark London Borough Council v B and Others: FD 29 Jul 1998
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 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 local authority applied for an interim care order immediately the child, B, was born. A proposal was made for the mother and child to move from the maternity hospital to a residential placement a mother and baby home which provided help in improving parents’ child care skills. The local authority was not prepared to … Continue reading In re B (Interim care order: Directions): CA 14 Jan 2002
