‘A mother found to have been raped by her ex-partner was “devastated” after the family court permitted the convicted sex offender to have contact with their child.’
The Guardian, 31st August 2024
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal brought by a local authority against a judge’s direction that the council should facilitate interim direct contact between a young girl and her mother.’
The Independent, 21st May 2024
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘This is a contact dispute in respect of a five year old that’s been going on for more than two years. At this hearing, both the mother and father were represented by barristers and there was a bundle of documents of more than 360 pages. The same judge, DJ Sophie Harrison, had conducted a fact-finding hearing in December 2022. The child lives with the mother, and the father was applying for increased contact – he was seeing the child regularly with supported, but not supervised, contact at a centre. At a hearing in June 2023, this contact was varied to extend to some unsupervised contact “in the community”.’
Transparency Project, 27th February 2024
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘A family court judge has accepted the recommendation of an unregulated expert and ruled that a child should be removed from her mother’s care after finding the mother made an “entirely false allegation” about the child’s father.’
The Guardian, 16th December 2023
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Kristine Lidgerwood provides a self-check for a situation which many practitioners will be familiar with and which applies equally to public law and private law proceedings. The unadmitted allegation.’
Local Government Lawyer, 28th September 2023
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘A law firm has had to take civil action against the father on the opposite side of a child contact dispute because of the abuse he has directed at it and the solicitor running the case.’
Legal Futures, 12th June 2023
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Dr Adrienne Barnett, Reader in Law, Brunel University, London, and Dr Charlotte Proudman, barrister at Goldsmith Chambers and director at Right to Equality, consider whether K v K [2022] EWCA Civ 468 favours the resolution of resource constraints over the safety and welfare of victims of domestic abuse.’
Family Law Week, 30th January 2023
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Many private law practitioners feel frustration about the significant disparity in contact arrangements between children in private and public proceedings. Sadly, this has long been the case: I last wrote an article about this in 2019 (One act, 2 Regimes: why? Family Law Week 17th December 2019) and cannot say that matters have moved on or changed meaningfully. As I set out in that article, there is no justification legally for courts to apply Children Act considerations varyingly. The problem here lies not with the law but in the practice.’
Family Law Week, 21st October 2022
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
‘Maria Scotland appeared for the appellant in the recently reported case of Re A (A CHILD) (supervised contact) (s91(14) Children Act 1989 orders) [2021] EWCA Civ 174. In this article, Maria discusses the guidance that this case offers in relation to supervised contact and updating the Re P guidance on the making of a s.91(14) order.’
Family Law, 12th January 2022
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘It is not uncommon to hear the phrase “parental alienation” in family courts in England and Wales. It is a term used to describe all manner of sins, ranging from minor parenting disputes to broad, unmitigated emotional and psychological harm to children. There has been much, and continues to be much, use of the phrase in discussions around the various issues facing the family courts and the appropriateness of the judicial remedies available to counteract it.’
Transparency Project, 7th September 2021
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Reading the case name W (Children: Reopening/recusal) I assumed that this would be another of those applications by a party, invariably the father, for the recusal of the judge in a children application, on the basis of alleged bias.’
Transparency Project, 18th December 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Issue #41 of Spire Barristers’ Family Law Newsletter: edited by Connie Purdy and Taz Irshad; news and Case Reviews by Francesca Massarella.’
Spire Barristers, 19th November 2020
Source: spirebarristers.co.uk
‘No sooner had clarity been obtained as to how child contact would work within and across the tier system, than the government announced its suspension in England. From 5 November 2020, a 4-week lockdown will begin. Thankfully though, the position on child contact is very much clearer this time around.’
Family Law, 4th November 2020
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
‘Georgina Dalton summarises the latest public law children rulings, covering issues such as contact during care, changing the nationality of children in care, and practice on granting short-term stays.’
Local Government Lawyer, 18th September 2020
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘Issue #37 of Spire Barristers’ Family Law Newsletter: edited by Connie Purdy and Taz Irshad; news and Case Reviews by Georgina Dalton. Georgina commences pupillage at Spire Barristers in September 2020.’
Spire Barristers, 26th August 2020
Source: spirebarristers.co.uk
‘[T]here are two new remote hearing related judgments out :
A Local Authority v Mother & Ors [2020] EWHC 1086 (Fam) and Re Q [2020] EWHC 1109 (Fam).’
Transparency Project, 7th May 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
‘There can often be an interplay between family and immigration proceedings. This article seeks to give some guidance to family practitioners when the immigration status of a parent in contact proceedings is a live issue.’
Broadway House Chambers, 19th March 2020
Source: broadwayhouse.co.uk
‘The case of Re A (Children) (Parental Alienation) 2019 EWFC demonstrates clearly the shortcomings of the Family Court to ensure that all children, wherever possible, enjoy a relationship with both of his or her parents. The position of the courts with regard to ordering no direct contact with the absent parent, is that it is a very serious step to take, and should only be taken where it is plainly not in the welfare best interests of the child.’
Becket Chambers, 2nd March 2020
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
‘When considering applications relating to children, the courts are led by Section 1 of the Children’s Act 1989 (CA), in that the welfare of a child is to be the paramount consideration when making decisions about the child’s future. S 1(3) provides clear factors which a court must have regard to. These form the basis upon which decisions relating to children are made.’
Parklane Plowden Chambers, 5th February 2020
Source: www.parklaneplowden.co.uk
‘Readers of the blog may well recall the case concerning five Charedi Jewish children at the centre of a family dispute. The children’s father is transgender and left the family home in June 2015 to live as a transgender person. She now lives as a woman. The children’s father sought face to face contact with the children. The childrens’ mother opposed the application.’
Transparency Project, 28th January 2020
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
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