‘A (A Child) (Rev 1) [2020] EWCA 731 (15 June 2020). This was an appeal by the secretary of state against a decision of the President of the Family Division concerning the exercise of the family court’s jurisdiction to make a female genital mutilation protection order (FGMPO) under the Female Genital Mutilation Act 2003 Sch.2 Pt 1 para.1.’
UK Human Rights Blog, 13th July 2020
Source: ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘Judges and magistrates of the family court deal with some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Quite often, people will find it difficult to participate because of their vulnerabilities. These vulnerabilities could cover a wide spectrum of barriers to participation: some litigants may have cognitive or mental health problems; some may have an intellectual disability; some may have a physical disability; and some may be particularly vulnerable as a result of the experiences they have suffered.’
Transparency Project, 11th July 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The Domestic Abuse bill which is making its way through the legislative process and which was delayed as a result of the calling of the general election (and the prorogation of Parliament) has reached the report stage in the commons this week. It is expected to be amended to incorporate the reforms to the legislation recommended by an expert panel and which will implement those recommendations and commence a pilot scheme to trial them.’
Becket Chambers, 1st July 2020
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
‘A client who is successful in most forms of civil litigation can expect to recover some if not all their costs. Since the abolition of the Calderbank offer, it has been difficult to obtain cost orders in financial remedy litigation and the general rule is that the court will not make an order requiring one party to pay the costs of the other (FPR 28.3 (5)).’
Becket Chambers, 6th July 2020
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
‘The potential short and longer-term consequences of the COVID-19 crisis upon the global and national economy are now well-known. Financial remedy practitioners have been anticipating a number of queries from clients potentially seeking to make an application to set aside their concluded financial settlements, because of the effect current events have had or may have upon their finances. Questions therefore arise about whether or not the effects of COVID-19 are capable of being treated as a Barder Event by the family courts, and thus to act as a basis to revisit final financial remedy orders.’
Thomas More Chambers, 6th July 2020
Source: www.thomasmore.co.uk
‘The government has announced an overhaul of how the Family Court deals with domestic abuse to provide greater protection to survivors of domestic abuse.’
Family Law, 1st July 2020
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘The Family Procedure Rule Committee (FPRC) has announced a stakeholder consultation on making the general enforcement application procedure (for the enforcement of family financial orders) more effective. The consultation follows the Law Commission’s report in December 2016 on the enforcement of family financial orders.’
Family Law, 1st July 2020
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘John Jupp, Solicitor, and Lecturer in Law at the University of Sussex, considers whether family judges are making consistent case management decisions during the pandemic.’
Family Law Week, 24th June 2020
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘The general rule in civil litigation is that costs “follow the event”. In an article I wrote for the special issue of Civil Justice Quarterly on Civil Litigation Costs, Vol. 32 pages 109-312 Issue 2 2013, I discussed the negative impact that this rule can have on access to justice: not only is the losing party hit with two bills rather than one, but the losing party has no direct control over the costs incurred by the successful party.’
Pallant Chambers, 26th June 2020
Source: www.pallantchambers.co.uk
‘Judges will be empowered to intervene in cases of domestic abuse to prevent the complainant from being re-victimised by aggressive lines of questioning, as part of a new raft of legal changes announced today.’
The Guardian, 25th June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Two documents about special guardianship were published in mid June: A Public Law Working Group/Family Justice Council report and a Nuffield Family Justice Observatory research briefing on special guardianship orders (SGOs). The President of the Family Division has described practice guidance contained in the report as comprehensive and authoritative and has published this with his complete endorsement. He says on the Judiciary website that the guidance should now be applied and used in every case where a SGO is an option.’
Transparency Project, 21st June 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Liz Andrews, barrister at 1|GC Family Law reviews the judgment in A Local Authority v The Mother and others where Williams J was required to determine, in light of the guidance of the President of the Family Division alongside the recent decisions concerning adjournments during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, whether a fact-finding hearing taking place within long-running care proceedings was to continue following the conclusion of expert evidence and, if so, in what form, or whether the hearing should be adjourned to allow the lay parties to give evidence in person.’
1 GC: Family Law, 5th June 2020
Source: 1gc.com
‘It is unlikely that anything approaching a return to the normal court working environment will be achieved before the end of 2020 “or even the spring of 2021”, the President of the Family Division has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 9th June 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, has today published “The Road Ahead” for the Family Court in England and Wales.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 9th June 2020
Source: www.judiciary.uk
‘A trial should be held on the “virtually insoluble dilemma” between diplomatic immunity and local authorities’ child protection duties, Mr Justice Mostyn has ruled in the High Court Family Division.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th June 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Court hearings held remotely in lockdown disadvantage vulnerable people and should not be used longer term, lawyers and charities have said.’
BBC News, 4th June 2020
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘The Covid-19 pandemic has produced a number of new cases which tie together the guidance produced by the senior judiciary and are essential reading for all practitioners in this new world of remote working.’
St Ives Chambers, 27th May 2020
Source: www.stiveschambers.co.uk
‘The head of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory on how parents and children are being failed during the coronavirus crisis.’
The Guardian, 2nd June 2020
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘A Family Division judge has rejected a birth father’s application under the inherent jurisdiction of the High Court to revoke an adoption order made in November 2019, despite levelling criticisms at the local authority and Children’s Guardian over a lack of rigour and urgency to identify him.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th May 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Remote hearings have been a successful emergency measure but should not be taken as establishing a settled mode of operation for the family courts after Covid-19, a leading judge has warned.’
Legal Futures, 26th May 2020
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2025