Family seeks justice over alleged ‘honour’ killing – The Guardian

Posted December 19th, 2016 in adoption, domestic violence, India, news, police by sally

‘When Seeta Kaur arrived in India with her children for a three-week visit to her husband’s relatives she was determined that when she returned to Britain it would be with both the sons who had accompanied her.’

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The Guardian, 17th December 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Children: Public Law Update (December 2016) – Family Law Week

Posted December 8th, 2016 in adoption, appeals, care orders, families, fostering, legal representation, news, witnesses by tracey

‘John Tughan QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews recent important judgments in the field of public children law.’

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Family Law Week, 7th December 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

The right of a natural father without parental responsibility to receive notice of adoption proceedings – No. 5 Chambers

Posted November 9th, 2016 in adoption, news, notification, parental responsibility, parental rights by sally

‘This short article examines the law concerning the right of a natural father without parental responsibility to receive notice of adoption proceedings relating to his child.’

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No. 5 Chambers, 19th September 2016

Source: www.no5.com

Christian couple refuse to give foster children to gay parents – The Independent

Posted November 8th, 2016 in adoption, Christianity, fostering, freedom of expression, homosexuality, news by sally

‘A husband and wife are fighting against their foster children’s adoption by two gay men because they “need a mother and father”.’

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The Independent, 8th November 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Christian couple blocked from adoption amid ‘gay parents’ row – Daily Telegraph

Posted November 7th, 2016 in adoption, Christianity, fostering, homosexuality, news by sally

‘A couple have been blocked from adopting their two foster children after expressing concerns about them being raised by a gay couple.’

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Daily Telegraph, 6th October 2016

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Baby adoption practices of past demand inquiry, say law firms – the Guardian

Posted November 4th, 2016 in adoption, inquiries, news, young persons by tracey

‘Pressure is mounting for a public inquiry into the adoption of hundreds of thousands of babies born to unmarried women over a 30-year period amid claims from some mothers who say they were coerced into handing over their children. A letter will be sent to the home secretary, Amber Rudd, next week from solicitors at two eminent law firms calling on her to convene a public inquiry into historical adoption practices in the UK. The solicitors say an inquiry would uncover the truth about the practices – stretching over three decades after the end of the second world war – and hold agencies to account.’

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The Guardian, 4th November 2016

Source: www.guardian.co.uk

QS v RS – WLR Daily

Posted October 31st, 2016 in adoption, children, citizenship, domicile, foreign jurisdictions, news by sally

QS v RS [2016] EWHC 2470 (Fam)

‘The parents who were British citizens adopted a child in Nepal in 2008. Neither parent was habitually resident or domiciled in Nepal at the time of the adoption, both being domiciled in the United Kingdom. The family moved to Dubai and the child was granted British citizenship. Soon afterwards the marriage broke down leading to a troubled period of dispute between the parents. The father remained living in Dubai and the mother in due course resided in the United Kingdom. The child, aged 12, resided with the father in Dubai. The mother applied, inter alia, for the recognition of the child’s foreign adoption order at common law and for a declaration under section 57 of the Family Law Act 1986 that she was the adopted child of the parents for the purposes of section 67 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. The issue arose whether, in the light of the common law rule that an English court was not entitled to recognise a foreign adoption order unless the adopting parents were domiciled (or habitually resident) in the relevant country at the time of the adoption, there were any circumstances in which that rule did not apply or might not be applied such that a foreign adoption would be recognised in England notwithstanding that at the time of the adoption the adopters were not domiciled in that country.’

WLR Daily, 10th October 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Average time for disposal of care proceedings steady at 27 weeks: report – Local Government Lawyer

Posted October 5th, 2016 in adoption, care orders, delay, female genital mutilation, news, reports, statistics by sally

‘The average time for the disposal of a care or supervision application made in April to June 2016 in England and Wales was 27 weeks, remaining steady over the past year, the latest quarterly report on family court statistics has revealed.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 4th October 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

Adoption and The Children and Social Work Bill – Family Law Week

Posted September 16th, 2016 in adoption, bills, children, news, social services by tracey

‘Adrian Barnett-Thoung-Holland, pupil barrister at FOURTEEN, considrs the extent to which the proposed legislation promotes adoption as the preferred model of permanency for children subject to care proceedings.’

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Family Law Week, 15th September 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Adoption guidelines need ‘strengthening’ to save lives – BBC News

‘One of the UK’s leading experts in adoption and fostering, John Simmonds, has warned more children like 18-month-old Keegan Downer could die at the hands of their carers if existing guidelines are not strengthened.’

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BBC News, 2nd September 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Couple told they must adopt own baby after failing to check tick box on form – The Independent

Posted August 30th, 2016 in adoption, assisted reproduction, documents, news, parental responsibility by sally

‘A centimetre of ink” nearly came between a couple and their child when the pair were told by a hospital they would have to adopt their child after failing to cross a tick box on a fertility treatment form.’

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The Independent, 29th August 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Children: Public Law Update (August 2016) – Family Law Week

Posted August 19th, 2016 in adoption, child abuse, children, fostering, human rights, news, privilege by tracey

‘John Tughan QC, 4 Paper Buildings, reviews recent decisions relevant to public children lawyers, including two important recent decisions of the Court of Appeal.’

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Family Law Week, 11th August 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk

Parents with disabilities – Park Square Barristers

‘It is entirely common for care proceedings to involve parents with learning disabilities or difficulties. This case is essential reading for all practitioners involved in such cases. It sets out the expectations on the state (inevitably through a local authority) to provide support to such parents in caring for their children.’

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Park Square Barristers, 23rd June 2016

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Family President orders re-hearing of fact finding in case where boy adopted – Local Government Lawyer

Posted June 23rd, 2016 in adoption, children, evidence, family courts, news by sally

‘The President of the Family Division has ordered the re-opening of a finding of fact hearing in care proceedings where a boy was later adopted.’

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Local Government Lawyer, 22nd June 2016

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

In re A (A Child) (Baby Relinquished for Adoption: Case Management)

In re A (A Child) (Baby Relinquished for Adoption: Case Management) [2016] EWFC 25

‘A, a baby born in England to Latvian parents, was relinquished at birth for adoption and quickly placed with foster parents who were approved to adopt. On the understanding that there was no one within the extended natural family, either in England or in Latvia, in a position to care for A, and with the consent of the birth parents given in accordance with sections 19 and 20 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, the local authority proceeded to convert A’s short-term arrangements to an adoptive placement and notified the Latvian central authority of A’s situation. The foster parents, with whom A had lived for much of his life, applied to adopt him. The Latvian central authority, having made its own enquiries of relatives in Latvia, identified the maternal grandmother as a potential long-term carer for A, had completed a favourable preliminary suitability assessment and commissioned a full suitability assessment. The central authority opposed the adoption of A in England and submitted its concerns that the approach of the English courts towards adoption cases placed insufficient weight on the rights of a child to grow up in his inherited culture and was therefore potentially contrary to articles 36 and 37 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 and a breach of articles 8 and 20 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child 1989. The birth mother, who had deliberately not informed her wider family in Latvia of the proposed adoption, continued to support adoption by the foster parents, maintaining her opinion that an education and upbringing in England would be in A’s best interests and that her mother would find it difficult physically and financially to care for A. At a case management hearing, the children’s guardian appointed for A recommended an adjournment to enable completion of the grandmother’s assessment. In circumstances where the prospective adopters, the birth parents and the local authority all supported the adoption, where factors from the welfare checklist in section 1(4) of the 2002 Act pointed towards adoption, and where a delay in making a decision was likely to prejudice A’s welfare, the issue before the judge was whether he should make an adoption order without having considered the substantial assessment of the suitability of the maternal grandmother in Latvia as A’s long-term carer.’

WLR Daily, 6th May 2016

Source: www.iclr.co.uk

Baby relinquished for adoption – case management – Park Square Barristers

‘How should a local authority approach a case where a baby is relinquished for adoption at birth by parents whose home country is not (or not necessarily) the United Kingdom and his or her parents do not seek to contest an adoption in the UK? This was a very interesting case in which William Tyler QC of Park Square Barristers represented the Local Authority.’

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Park Square Barristers, 1st June 2016

Source: www.parksquarebarristers.co.uk

Father should be allowed to apply for parental responsibility following surrogacy – UK Human Rights Blog

‘Z (A Child) (No 2) [2016] EWHC 1191 (Fam) 20 May 2016. The Court of Protection has granted an order for a declaration of incompatibility with Convention rights of a section in the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act on grounds of discrimination.’

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UK Human Rights Blog, 25th May 2016

Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com

Surrogacy laws for single parents to change after court ruling – BBC News

‘Surrogacy laws which prevent single people from claiming parental rights are set to change following a ruling by the Family Division of the High Court.’

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BBC News, 23rd May 2016

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

The Queen’s Speech: Six laws that could be about to change dramatically – The Independent

Posted May 17th, 2016 in adoption, bills, education, human rights, news, parliament, prisons, speeches by sally

‘Oliver Wright takes a look at the biggest changes to be expected in Wednesday’s Queen’s Speech – and assesses how controversial they will be.’

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The Independent, 16th May 2016

Source: www.independent.co.uk

What’s really in the bests interests of children from other European countries involved in care proceedings? – Family Law Week

‘Sarah Phillimore, barrister, of St John’s Chambers considers the ‘best interests’ test under Article 15 of Brussels IIR in the light of the Supreme Court’s judgment in Re N.’

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Family Law Week, 6th May 2016

Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk