Family Drug and Alcohol Courts to be extended in England – BBC News

Posted February 18th, 2015 in alcohol abuse, drug abuse, families, family courts, news by sally

‘Courts which help parents deal with drug or alcohol addiction so they can keep their children are to be opened in more areas of England.’

Full story

BBC News, 18th February 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Family court judges given power to order DNA tests – BBC News

Posted February 17th, 2015 in DNA, family courts, news, parental responsibility, paternity, pilot schemes by sally

‘Family court judges in England will be able to order DNA tests to determine a child’s parentage from September, Justice Minister Simon Hughes has said.’

Full story

BBC News, 17th February 2015

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Something must be done – will a partial return to Calderbank fit the Bill (or at least reduce it)? – Family Law Week

Posted February 16th, 2015 in costs, divorce, families, family courts, financial provision, news by sally

‘Tom Wilson, pupil at 1 Garden Court Family Law Chambers, examines the possibility of a partial re-introduction of the Calderbank offer.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 12th February 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Schedule 1 to The Children Act 1989: Not Just for Wags – Family Law Week

‘Anita Mehta, barrister of Crown Office Row, Brighton, argues that Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 applications should not be regarded as the domain of footballers’ girlfriends or the uber-wealthy but as a powerful tool for meeting children’s needs in a wide variety of cases.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 6th February 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Financial Remedies Working Group final report – Judiciary.gov.uk

‘The Financial Remedies Working Group (“the group”) was established by the President of the Family Division in June 2014. It has been chaired by Nicholas Mostyn J and Stephen Cobb J.

The group produced an interim report on 31 July 2014, making a number of recommendations. This final report should be read in conjunction with that interim report.’

Final report

Judiciary of England and Wales, 28th January 2015

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Male circumcision can be part of “reasonable parenting”, but no form of FGM is acceptable – Family Court – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted January 19th, 2015 in children, expert witnesses, family courts, female genital mutilation, news by sally

‘B and G (Children) (No.2) [2015] EWFC 3. Contemplating the details of different forms of female genital mutilation is not for the faint hearted. But that is what the courts and the relevant experts have to do, not only to protected alleged victims but to defend the interests of those suspected of perpetuating the procedure, whether it is a question of criminal liability under the FGM Act 2003, or determining that a threshold of harm has been passed so as to initiate care proceedings if the victim is a child.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 18th January 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Unrepresented parents in family cases: are errors going unnoticed? – Halsbury’s Law Exchange

Posted January 14th, 2015 in children, delay, families, family courts, litigants in person, news by sally

‘Is a lack of legal representation in family cases increasing the likelihood of procedural errors going unnoticed? The judgment in Re P (A Child) suggests that there is a pressing need for change by the courts and judiciary.’

Full story

Halsbury’s Law Exchange, 14th January 2015

Source: www.halsburyslawexchange.co.uk

Judge left anonymous in family court case is named – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 13th, 2015 in anonymity, family courts, judges, news by sally

‘Judicial Office names judge in Reading case as Eleanor Owens after identities of everyone involved kept secret in highly-unusual move.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 12th January 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Neither compassionate nor humane – Legal Aid Handbook

‘The first two reported cases of the year in the Family Court are both concerned with the difficulties litigants – not to mention practitioners, and the courts – are now faced with when trying to navigate the legal aid system. The first – about which we posted here – concerned an unrepresented father who couldn’t get legal aid despite needing to cross-examine a child who had accused him of abuse, leading to the court to order that he be funded outside the legal aid scheme.’

Full story

Legal Aid Handbook, 11th January 2015

Source: www.legalaidhandbook.com

An avalanche of reform – New Law Journal

Posted January 9th, 2015 in case management, divorce, family courts, financial provision, news by sally

‘Geraldine Morris reviews the family law changes in 2014 & makes predictions for the year ahead.’

Full story

New Law Journal, 8th January 2015

Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk

Social workers must not ‘shy away’ from adoption – top family judge – Daily Telegraph

Posted December 17th, 2014 in adoption, families, family courts, news, social services by sally

‘Sir James Munby seeks to head off collapse in adoption placements warning that children could be put at risk by new obsession with keeping them with relatives ‘at all costs’.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 16th December 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Father treated ‘like Kafka character’ by Family Court – top judge – Daily Telegraph

‘A father who was banned from his own street, cut off from his children for five months, with no opportunity to defend himself, and then arrested for text messaging his son, was treated like a character from a Kafka novel, a senior judge has admitted.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 15th December 2015

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Speech by The Hon. Mr Justice Mostyn: The Craft of Judging and Legal Reasoning – Judiciary of England and Wales

Posted December 15th, 2014 in Court of Protection, family courts, judges, speeches by sally

‘Speech by The Hon. Mr Justice Mostyn: The Craft of Judging and Legal Reasoning at the Bristol University School of Law on 8 December 2014.’

Full speech

Judiciary of England and Wales, 12th December 2014

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

The Lord Chief Justice’s Report 2014 – Judiciary of England and Wales

‘The Lord Chief Justice has today laid his annual report before Parliament. His report looks back at the past 12 months and explains how the judiciary have administered justice across all jurisdictions by focusing on key priorities.’

Full report

Judiciary of England and Wales, 15th December 2014

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Judge issues ultimatum after ‘absurd’ £1.3m family dispute – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 8th, 2014 in costs, dispute resolution, documents, family courts, news by sally

‘A judge has taken the unusual step of removing most case documents from court and giving partners a final ultimatum to settle their separation dispute.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette,

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

‘Better than nothing… helpful… mad as a bag of frogs’: judges on McKenzie Friends –

Posted December 5th, 2014 in family courts, litigants in person, McKenzie friends, news, reports by sally

‘A new report on litigants in person in private family law cases has added to concerns over the value and legitimacy of McKenzie Friends in the legal services market. The report, commissioned and published by the Ministry of Justice, into litigants in person in the family courts (here) found the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s recommendation that professional McKenzie Friends be recognised as a legitimate part of the market (reported here) ‘somewhat surprising’.’

Full story

LegalVoice, 4th December 2014

Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk

Speech to the Bar Conference – Nicholas Lavender QC, Chairman of the Bar Council

Speech to the Bar Conference (PDF)

Nicholas Lavender QC, Chairman of the Bar Council

The Bar Council, 8th November 2014

Source: www.barcouncil.org.uk

Ascertaining Children’s Wishes and Feelings – Family Law Week

Posted December 1st, 2014 in care orders, children, family courts, news by sally

‘Paul Bishop, an independent social worker and formerly a Children’s Guardian, draws on 20 years’ experience of interviewing children involved in family proceedings.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 28th November 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

The Devil in the Detail: The Court Bundles Practice Direction and J v J [2014] EWHC 3654 – Family Law Week

Posted November 24th, 2014 in documents, family courts, news, practice directions by sally

‘Alexander Chandler, barrister at 1 King’s Bench Walk considers the Implications of the Court Bundles Practice Direction in the light of Mostyn J’s judgment in J v J [2014] EWHC 3654.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 20th November 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

President’s Guidance on the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) and its role – Judiciary of England and Wales

‘Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division issued guidance on the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit on 10 November 2014.’

Full guidance

Judiciary of England and Wales, 19th November 2014

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk