Serious case review to probe whether toddler battered to death by foster mother could have been saved – Daily Telegraph

‘Social services are facing questions after a “barbaric” woman beat an 18-month-old girl in her care to death, inflicting 200 injuries on her and trying to blame her eldest son for the child’s death.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 3rd May 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Who Guards the Guardians? – Family Law Week

‘The Association of Lawyers for Children and the National Association of Guardians ad Litem and Reporting Officers respond to recent guidance given in the Central Family Court on the need for guardians to justify their attendance at care hearings save in specified circumstances.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 31st January 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

ISIL child brides: a big care problem for the Family Court? – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted August 28th, 2015 in children, families, guardianship, news, terrorism by sally

‘When a judge waxes lyrical about a child, garlanded with starred GCSEs, their intelligence, their medical school ambitions, you wonder what is coming. It’s the judicial equivalent of those blurred reproductions in the press of murder victims’ graduate portraits.’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 27th August 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Injuries to Infant with Bone Disorder: latest deliberations of the High Court – Family Law Week

‘Zimran Samuel, barrister of 42 Bedford Row, comments on Mr Justice Peter Jackson’s recent judgment concerning an infant with vitamin D deficiency induced rickets who had suffered multiple fractures.’

Full story

Family Law week, 30th July 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

The Court of Appeal and the Birth Family: Making Certain Justice is Seen to be Done – Family Law Week

Posted May 7th, 2015 in adoption, appeals, guardianship, news, parental rights, residence orders by sally

‘David Bedingfield, barrister of 4 Paper Buildings, considers two recent Court of Appeal judgments which had cause to consider the significance of a child’s family ties.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 6th May 2015

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Family court gives guardianship of black child to white foster carer – The Guardian

Posted April 7th, 2015 in fostering, guardianship, news by sally

‘A white British foster carer who has looked after a two-year-old boy of black African heritage since he was less than six months old has been named his “special guardian” by the family court.’

Full story

The Guardian, 5th April 2015

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

New powers for relatives of missing people – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A new law will allow relatives of missing people to take charge of their family member’s property and financial affairs, such as suspending direct debit payments for mobile phone and utility bills, and making mortgage payments, the Ministry of Justice announced today.’

Full story

Law Society’s Gazette, 23rd March 2015

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Mental Capacity Law Newsletter – Thirty Nine Essex Street

Mental Capacity Law Newsletter (PDF)

Thirty Nine Essex Street, February 2015

Source: www.39essex.com

“Lamentable”, “egregious” and “wholly indefensible”: High Court lambasts local authority’s conduct of care proceedings – UK Human Rights Blog

Posted February 2nd, 2015 in care orders, children, damages, delay, guardianship, human rights, local government, news by sally

‘A Family Division judge has awarded damages under the Human Rights Act against a local authority in what he described as an “unfortunate and woeful case” involving a baby taken into foster care. Mr Justice Keehan cited a “catalogue of errors, omissions, delays and serial breaches of court orders” by Northamptonshire County Council. Unusually, the judge decided to give the judgment in this sensitive case in public in order to set out “the lamentable conduct of this litigation by the local authority.”’

Full story

UK Human Rights Blog, 1st February 2015

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Guardianship of the property and affairs of missing persons – Ministry of Justice

Posted August 28th, 2014 in consultations, guardianship, missing persons, news, powers of attorney by sally

‘When a person goes missing, there is currently no legal mechanism for another person to manage his or her affairs during his or her absence. This can lead to the dissipation of the missing person’s assets (for example, through uncancellable Direct Debits) and the deterioration or loss of assets (for example, through lack of maintenance or failure to meet financial obligations, such as mortgage payments).’

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 27th August 2014

Source: www.consult.justice.gov.uk

New legal powers for families of missing people on the horizon – Daily Telegraph

Posted August 28th, 2014 in consultations, families, guardianship, missing persons, news, powers of attorney by sally

‘Campaign by Claudia Lawrence’s father Peter leads to proposals to give relatives of missing loved ones power over their financial affairs.’

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 27th August 2014

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Court of Protection Update – Family Law Week

‘Sally Bradley and Michael Edwards, barristers of 4 Paper Buildings, consider the President’s guidance on transparency in the Court of Protection as well as the most important recent judgments.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 16th February 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Children: Public Law Update – Family Law Week

‘John Tughan, barrister of 4 Paper Buildings, analyses recent judgments in public law children cases and, in particular, the Re B-S line of authorities.’

Full story

Family Law Week, 24th January 2014

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

AA (Somalia) (Appellant) v Entry Clearance Officer (Addis Ababa) (Respondent) – Supreme Court

AA (Somalia) (Appellant) v Entry Clearance Officer (Addis Ababa) (Respondent) [2013] UKSC 81 | UKSC 2012/0181 (YouTube)

Supreme Court, 18th December 2013

Source: www.youtube.com/user/UKSupremeCourt

In re C (A Child)(Care Plan: Adoption) – WLR Daily

Posted October 23rd, 2013 in adoption, care orders, children, guardianship, law reports, local government by tracey

In re C (A Child)(Care Plan: Adoption): [2013] EWCA Civ 1257;   [2013] WLR (D)  394

“Where the court was hearing applications for both a care order and a placement for adoption order, the court should avoid a linear approach of considering and rejecting options in turn, and instead engage in a holistic evaluation of the central question of the welfare of the child by reference to the considerations in section 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, rather than the provisions in section 1 of the Children Act 1989.”

WLR Daily, 18th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

In re W (A Child) (Care Proceedings: Court’s Function) – WLR Daily

In re W (A Child) (Care Proceedings: Court’s Function) [2013] EWCA Civ 1227; [2013] WLR (D) 382

“Once a decision to institute care proceedings had been taken the court became the decision-maker until a full order was made. The local authority was required to provide the evidence to enable the judge to undertake the welfare and proportionality evaluations. That included a description of the services that were available and practicable for each placement option and each order being considered by the court. There should be no question of a local authority declining to file its evidence or proposed plans in response to the court’s evaluations. If a local authority made it clear that it would not implement a care plan option about which evidence had been given and which the judge preferred on welfare and proportionality grounds, then in a rare case it could be subjected to challenge in the High Court within the proceedings. In the unlikely event that a local authority declined to abide by a judge’s orders and directions in the future, the judge should inform the local authority’s monitoring officer to make a report to the authority with the intention that the authority was brought back into compliance.”

WLR Daily, 11th October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Proceedings brought by Schneider – WLR Daily

Posted October 7th, 2013 in conflict of laws, EC law, guardianship, jurisdiction, law reports, sale of land by sally

Proceedings brought by Schneider (Case C-386/12); [2013] WLR (D) 366

“Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, and, in particular article 22(1) thereof in relation to jurisdiction in proceedings concerning rights in rem in immoveable property, did not apply to non-contentious proceedings by which a national of a member state who had been declared to be lacking full capacity and placed under guardianship in that member state had applied to a court in another member state for authorisation to sell his share of a property situated in that other member state.”

WLR Daily, 3rd October 2013

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Council wins right to sell family assets to pay care bill – Daily Telegraph

Posted July 22nd, 2013 in carers, costs, Court of Protection, elderly, guardianship, mental health, news by sally

“A local authority has won the right to sell off family heirlooms, including a £30,000 Lucien Pissarro painting, to pay for an elderly man’s care bills.”

Full story

Daily Telegraph, 19th July 2013

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

More help for families of missing people – Ministry of Justice

Posted June 20th, 2013 in families, guardianship, missing persons, news, press releases by sally

“Families will be given extra help to cope when a loved one goes missing under new plans announced by Justice Minister Helen Grant.”

Full story

Ministry of Justice, 20th June 2013

Source: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ministry-of-justice

Legal powers plan for families of missing people – BBC News

Posted June 20th, 2013 in consultations, families, guardianship, missing persons, news by sally

“The families of missing people will get more power to handle legal and money problems after the disappearance, under government proposals.”

Full story

BBC News, 19th June 2013

Source: www.bbc.co.uk