Stepfather jailed over boy’s water park drowning – BBC News
‘The stepfather of a five-year-old boy who drowned at a water park has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.’
BBC News, 20th December 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Category: children
Alfie Evans: Parents in legal fight to take brain damaged son to Vatican doctors – Daily Telegraph
‘A hospital has prevented parents from sending their brain damaged toddler to the same Vatican doctors who offered to help Charlie Gard, a court has heard.’
Daily Telegraph, 19th December 2017
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Plus ca change? A review of family law in 2017 & a look forward to 2018 – Family Law
‘Reform is a now a feature of the family justice system – Geraldine Morris asks whether the underlying issues are being addressed?’
Family Law, 14th December 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Warning of legal challenge to procurement of residential care places for children – Local Government Lawyer
‘The Independent Children’s Homes Association (ICHA) has warned that a legal challenge to local authority procurement of care places is possible without radical reform of the current system.’
Local Government Lawyer, 13th December 2017
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
Evidence of children and vulnerable witnesses: Part 2 – Family Law
‘The first article in this series of two dealt with circumstances where particular arrangements might be appropriate for children and vulnerable as witnesses in family proceedings. This article looks at the type of measure which the court can provide for such witnesses; and at how these measures are dealt with in common law and under statutory provision. As mentioned at the end of this article, the funding of assessment for, and thus the effective operation of, such measures is not something the Lord Chancellor and his Ministry of Justice seems fully – or at all? – to have put their minds to.’
Family Law, 12th December 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Child friendly courts: what we can learn from America – Legal Voice
‘At the tender age of seven, I was faced with the prospect of having to go to court to give evidence. Fortunately, the case settled and I was spared the ordeal of going to court, but I will never forget the endless sleepless nights and distress I felt at the thought of it. The experience made me determined to do whatever I could when I was older to prevent any other child feeling this way.’
Legal Voice, 11th December 2017
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
The impact of acrimonious family breakdowns on children – Family Law
‘The issue of single parent families has attracted the attention of headline writers for more than a generation. But in the reporting of data relating to them, much of it centres on the two million single parents who comprise a quarter of all UK families with dependent children. Notably, rather less coverage is given to the 3.2m children who live with a single parent, most of whom come from a divorced family. Far less likely to make headlines is that many of these children are adversely affected by parental conflict.’
Family Law, 11th December 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Tough code of practice for websites will aim to protect children online – The Guardian
‘Websites and apps will be subject to a tough new code of practice to protect children’s privacy online following a cross-party campaign in the House of Lords to prevent young people’s internet activity being monitored.’
The Guardian, 8th December 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Undercover police officers: how far does their legal liability go? – UK Human Rights Blog
‘The High Court has refused an application to strike out a claim in negligence and misfeasance in public office taken by someone born as a result of a liaison between an activist in the animal liberation movement and a man who subsequently turned out to be an undercover police officer.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 8th December 2017
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
Evidence of children and vulnerable witnesses: Part 1 – Family Law
‘This article (the first of two) considers the evidence of any witness in family proceedings where that evidence diverges from the general procedural rules (as explained below) for evidence in family proceedings.’
Family Law, 8th December 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
More than 30 child protection departments in special measures – The Guardian
‘The children’s services departments of more than 30 councils in England are in special measures, an Observer analysis has revealed.’
The Guardian, 10th December 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Unreliable forensic toxicology tests – next steps – Family Law
‘Family analysis: The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced that it is treating some hair strand test results as potentially unreliable. Maud Davis, partner at TV Edwards LLP looks at what this could mean for proceedings involving children where there was a reliance on hair strand testing, and suggests next steps for family practitioners advising in this area.’
Family Law, 7th December 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Surrogacy arrangement breakdown: surrogate ordered to hand child over to intended parents – Transparency Project
‘The case concerned two couples A and B, male same-sex partners, and C and D, a heterosexual married couple. C and D had 5 children of their own. C, having been a gestational surrogate on two previous occasions, entered into a surrogacy agreement with A and B. C became pregnancy with H following embryo transfer. (using embryos created from A and B’s sperm and a donor egg from a Spanish egg donor which resulted in C’s pregnancy with H. A DNA test later confirmed A’s paternity.)’
Transparency Project, 30th November 2017
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
Children removed after parents’ open relationship contributes to neglect – The Guardian
‘Three children are to be removed from their family home amid concerns that their parents’ “open relationship” may have contributed to neglect. The ruling by a family court judge makes clear that the hearing was concerned only with the impact of the parents’ unusual lifestyle on their young children, who are all under the age of five and will now be placed for adoption.’
The Guardian, 30th November 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Child knife deaths in England and Wales set for nine-year peak – The Guardian
‘Knife crime has killed 35 children and teenagers in England and Wales so far this year, meaning that 2017 is likely to be the worst year for such deaths in nearly a decade.’
The Guardian, 28th November 2017
Source: www.theguardian.com
Cafcass launches ‘ground-breaking’ pilot scheme to crack down on parental alienation – Family Law
‘The Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass) is running a pilot scheme to bring an end to separated parents poisoning their child against the other parent. Parents who are guilty of manipulating their child in this way may have their child taken away from them and, in the most extreme cases, they may be denied contact.’
Family Law, 27th November 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
How can the courts protect children from extremism? – Family Law
‘Complex cases involving the children of families in which there are adults suspected of undertaking activities linked to terrorism or of involvement in radicalisation are facing family judges up and down the country as child protection services grapple to deal with the immediate effects of extremism.’
Family Law, 23rd November 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Ann Maguire murder: Coroner issues Facebook contracts plea – BBC News
‘A coroner has called for the creation of social media “contracts” for parents after it emerged a teacher’s murderer discussed killing her on Facebook.’
BBC News, 22nd November 2017
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
UK Laws Around Smacking Children Are Changing – Everything You Need to Know – The Independent
‘Rules around smacking children across the UK are changing as a result of new laws coming into force.’
The Independent, 22nd November 2017
Source: www.independent.co.uk
Court of Appeal Overturns Birmingham CC v D: 16-17 Year Olds Who Lack Capacity Not Deprived of Their Liberty Within Art 5 Where Parents Consent to Their Confinement – Garden Court Chambers
‘This is the appeal from the decision of Keehan J in Birmingham CC v D [2016] EWCOP 8.’
Garden Court Chambers, 10th November 2017
Source: www.gardencourtchambers.co.uk
