‘Family Court Advisors and Children’s Guardians will no longer use language such as ‘claims’ or ‘alleges’ in reports to court, using instead the words of children and adults who are victims of domestic abuse, in line with a new Domestic Abuse Practice Policy published by Cafcass.’
Local Government Lawyer, 11th October 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Judges in the family courts are using victim-blaming and gender-biased language towards domestic abuse survivors, AI analysis of judgments and appeals in England and Wales reveals.’
The Guardian, 8th October 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘In 2018, Sir Ernest Ryder warned that the future shift to online dispute resolution for most, and in some areas all disputes, risks eroding judicial accountability and fostering a democratic deficit. The pandemic, the £1.3 billion court modernisation program and six years later, the future of resolving the majority of disputes online appears to be much closer. The implementation of a truly holistic Digital Justice System – an integrated system of online advice services, online public and private out-of-court dispute resolution services (mediation and arbitration portals, ombuds services) and online courts – can make this future a reality. In fact, it is expressly intended that the majority of civil, family, and tribunal disputes will be settled or resolved online through the Digital Justice System, in accordance with rules specifically developed by the Online Procedure Rule Committee (OPRC) to cover the online pre-action and action space. It is also notable that such a system of various online private and public portals will have a common data architecture based on the open digital standards developed by OPRC. It is not yet known when this system will become operational, but as we approach such a reality, the potential loss of accountability and democratic deficit needs to be addressed as an extremely urgent threat.’
UK Constitutional Law Association, 3rd October 2024
Source: ukconstitutionallaw.org
‘The average time for public law care or supervision cases to reach first disposal was 41 weeks in April to June 2024, down 3 weeks from the same quarter in 2023, according to the latest data published by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ).’
Local Government Lawyer, 27th September 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Magistrates’ courts conducting family justice are now part of the Family Court, established in 2014, and subject to the same rules as those presided over by district, circuit and High Court judges. Under those rules, accredited media reporters and ‘legal bloggers’ (see below) are entitled to attend hearings even if they take place in private, though they can’t report anything without the court’s permission.’
Transparency Project, 24th September 2024
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘It is not often that a family law blog warns ordinary hard-working honest family lawyers that they might be unwitting criminals. This is that blog. You should read it.’
Financial Remedies Journal, 17th September 2024
Source: financialremediesjournal.com
‘Why is it that lawyers think that the principles underpinning financial remedies are clear, and yet the public are often perplexed? The issue is one of communication, or rather translating the law into plain English.’
Financial Remedies Journal, 20th September 2024
Source: financialremediesjournal.com
‘A section 91(14) order is also sometimes known as a ‘barring order’, but this is misleading. Orders made under section 91(14) of the Children Act 1989 stop a named person from making any application under the Children Act 1989 without the court’s permission.’
2DRJ, 3rd September 2024
Source: www.2drj.com
‘In G v S (Family Law Act 1996: Publicity) [2024] EWFC 231 (B) (6 June 2024) HHJ Reardon asked:
“What is the default position in terms of publication in a case where s 12 [of the Administration of Justice Act 1969] does not apply?”’
Financial Remedies Journal, 1st September 2024
Source: financialremediesjournal.com
‘Family Law Newsletter – August 2024; Articles, news, legislation updates and case updates from Care Proceedings, Private Law and Financial Remedy matters.’
Spire Barristers, 19th August 2024
Source: www.spirebarristers.co.uk
‘Domestic abuse survivors warn that – inside the secretive family courts – they are being ‘retraumatised’ by the legal system, and say judges are the worst offenders.’
The Independent, 17th August 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘In BN v MA [2013] EWHC 4250 (Fam) Mostyn J observed:
“[24] … In Granatino v Radmacher the Supreme Court analysed very closely the nature of nuptial agreements. They pointed out that nuptial agreements come in numerous shapes and forms and can be entered into at any point before, during or after a marriage …
[26] The Supreme Court has modified the test for the treatment of these nuptial agreements, as expressed in Edgar and Xydhias and, indeed, in MacLeod, so as to provide one single test applicable to all nuptial agreements, which is this, “The court should give effect to a nuptial agreement that is freely entered into by each party with a full appreciation of its implications unless in the circumstances prevailing it would not be fair to hold the parties to their agreement”. That now is the test to be applied in every case where a nuptial agreement falls for consideration.” ‘
Financial Remedies Journal, 16th August 2024
Source: financialremediesjournal.com
‘One of the changes to the FPR 2010 made when the material parts of the Family Procedure (Amendment No 2) Rules 2023 came into force on 29 April 2024 was an amendment to r 28.3(7) which by the insertion of a new (aa)(ii) makes “any failure by a party, without good reason, to attend non-court dispute resolution” a basis to depart from the general starting point that there should be no order as to costs. This is repeated in para 10E of PD 3A which states “the court may take the parties conduct in relation to attending non-court dispute resolution into account when considering whether to make an order for costs in relation to the proceedings”.’
Financial Remedies Journal, 16th August 2024
Source: financialremediesjournal.com
‘Domestic abuse survivors warn that – inside the secretive family courts – they are being “retraumatised” by the legal system, and say judges are the worst offenders.’
The Independent, 16th August 2024
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘We hear a lot about ‘secret’ family courts because of reporting restrictions and family privacy, but there is more to genuine transparency than holding processes out in the open. To understand how a system is operating we need information based on reliable data across that system.’
Transparency Project, 14th August 2024
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Financial Remedies – Short Marriage.’
33 Bedford Row, 7th August 2024
Source: www.33bedfordrow.co.uk
‘This post discusses the current approach to domestic abuse in financial remedy proceedings. For those short on time and unable to read the post in full, the key conclusions you need to be aware of are; the recent decision of Mr. Justice Peel in N v J [2024] EWFC 184 is important and says if you want the court to consider domestic abuse as part of your case you will need to follow the procedure in Tsvetkov v Khayrova [2023] EWFC 130; it also says that domestic abuse will only potentially be taken into account by the court if it is exceptional and has had a negative financial impact on the alleged victim.’
Transparency Project, 8th August 2024
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The Family Drug and Alcohol Court (FDAC) could save local authorities almost £10,000 per case in legal costs compared to standard care proceedings, according to a financial analysis carried out by the Centre for Justice Innovation.’
Local Government Lawyer, 5th August 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A View from The President’s Chambers: July 2024.’
Courts & Tribunals Judiciary, 31st July 2024
Source: www.judiciary.uk
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