‘Roger McCarthy QC and Mark Twomey, barrister, of Coram Chambers address the central point of the Supreme Court’s judgment in Re N (Children) [2016] UKSC 15.’
Family Law Week, 13th April 2016
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Two schoolgirls who took selfie pictures as they tortured and killed a frail alcoholic in her own home had run away from local authority care 18 times in the month leading up to the killing, it has emerged.
After the guilty verdicts were delivered, Hartlepool Council announced the launch of a serious case review to establish if more could have been done to prevent the out of control pair carrying out the appalling murder.’
Daily Telegraph, 5th April 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘Cafcass, the Association of Directors of Children’s Services (ADCS) and ADSS Cymru have published guidance aimed at clarifying the expectations on local authorities for children looked after under s. 20 of the Children Act 1989.’
Local Government Lawyer, 4th April 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
In re JL and AO (Babies Relinquished for Adoption): [2016] EWHC 440 (Fam)
‘In two cases babies, JL and AO, were born in England to mothers from Eastern Europe but relinquished at birth for adoption. In the case of JL the child, whose Estonian mother worked in England and whose putative father lived in Estonia, was accommodated by the local authority with the mother’s consent pursuant to an agreement under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 and was placed with foster carers. The mother gave her written consent to his adoption and the putative father, maternal family and the Estonian authorities all supported his adoption in this country. The local authority sought a placement order under section 21 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002. In the case of AO, the Hungarian parents working in England wished the child to be adopted in this country. AO had been removed at birth and placed with foster carers and had been made a ward of court. The local authority, children’s guardian and Hungarian authorities sought the child’s return to Hungary so that she could be placed for adoption there. Common issues arose as to what jurisdiction the court had to make orders facilitating such placements, (ii) the factors which had to be taken into account when making decisions about relinquished babies, the possible outcomes and the procedures to be followed and (iii) where a child born to nationals of a foreign country had been placed voluntarily in the care of a local authority, with a view to adoption or otherwise, whether the authority was under an obligation under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations 1963 to inform the consular officials of that country about the placement. In the case of JL, the further issues arose whether the court had jurisdiction to make a placement order and what order, if any, should be made. In the case of AO, the further issues arose whether it was open to the court either to transfer jurisdiction to Hungary under Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 (“Brussels IIA”) or to make an order permitting the local authority to send AO to Hungary; and what order, if any, the court should make.’
WLR Daily, 3rd March 2016
Source: www.iclr.co.uk
‘Schemes for judicial and CAFCASS involvement in the pre-proceedings phase of some types of care case will be piloted in selected courts shortly, the President of the Family Division has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 1st March 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Plainly exhausted’ mother probably shook baby in ‘momentary loss of control’, judge concludes.’
Daily Telegraph, 25th January 2016
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
‘A district judge who is suing the Ministry of Justice after whistleblowing her complaints about courtroom dangers – death threats, violent claimants and hostage-taking – has spoken out for the first time about her experience of an under-resourced justice system.’
The Guardian, 23rd January 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘The Government is to change the law to make prioritising lifelong stability for vulnerable children with a loving family a legal requirement, the Department for Education has said.’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th January 2016
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘More children will be removed from their biological parents and placed for adoption, under “urgent” new rules to be announced by ministers.’
The Independent, 14th January 2016
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A family court judge has come under fire after refusing to name a council that violated a man’s parental rights by taking his four-year-old daughter into care without a proper investigation.’
The Guardian, 10th January 2016
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘Rebekah Wilson, barrister, of Garden Court Chambers examines the plight of victims of domestic violence who find themselves caught up in care proceedings.’
Family Law Week, 11th December 2015
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Jacqui Gilliatt, barrister, and Amy Slingo, pupil, both of Four Brick Court, set out lessons to be learned from the recent judgments concerning section 20.’
Family Law Week, 24th November 2015
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Judith Masson, Professor of Socio-legal Studies at the University of Bristol, considers section 20 of the Children Act 1989 within its broader historic, legal and practice context.’
Family Law Week, 26th November 2015
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Alex Laing, barrister of Coram Chambers, considers two aspects of the decision in N (Children) (Adoption: Jurisdiction): (1) the jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales to order the non-consensual adoption of a foreign child; and (2) the construction and use of Article 15 of Brussels IIA to transfer care proceedings.’
Family Law Week, 10th November 2015
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘A Family Court judge has ordered a local authority to pay £20,000 in damages each to a mother and her seven-year-old daughter for breaches under the Human Rights Act.’
Local Government Lawyer, 29th October 2015
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Sarah Williams, Legal Team Leader, Social Care Team, at London Borough of Tower Hamlets, considers the high-profile cases recently heard in the Family Division of the High Court where children or families have been considered at risk of radicalisation and, in some cases, travelling to Syria or Iraq, together with the judicial responses to those cases.’
Family Law Week, 28th October 2015
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Guidance issued by Sir James Munby President of the Family Division on 8 October 2015.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 8th October 2015
Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk
‘In the course of care proceedings, they had been compelled to pay about £200,000 to provide a therapeutic residential placement for a family pursuant to section 38(6) of the Children Act 1989. The case had a happy ending; the family stayed together. But the local authority wanted to make it clear for the future that this had been an improper use of section 38(6) of the Children Act 1989 and argued that the court could not compel a local authority to pay for therapy for parents under a statutory provision directed at assessments of the child.The House of Lords – as they then were – agreed. However, they went further than simply restating the purpose behind section 38(6).’
UK Human Rights Blog, 18th September 2015
Source: www.ukhumanrightsblog.com
‘A husband and wife have won £10,000 each in damages from a local authority that wrongly kept their eight children in foster care. A deputy high court judge Sir Robert Francis said that if ever there was a case illustrating the challenges that faced children, parents, public authorities and the courts when concerns were raised about the safety and welfare of children, it was this one.’
The Guardian, 17th September 2015
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
‘John Tughan QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews recent judgments of significance to child care lawyers.’
Family Law Week, 2nd September 2015
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
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