‘A recorder has adjourned a family court hearing after finding the parties had come to it “in such a disordered and chaotic state that it is simply impossible to proceed in a fair way.” ’
Law Society's Gazette, 3rd February 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Family Justice Council (FJC) has published Guidance on Neurodiversity in the Family Justice System for practitioners (PDF). The guidance is aimed at legal practitioners working with neurodivergent users of the Family Justice System.’
Family Justice Council, 30th January 2025
Source: www.judiciary.uk
‘Three judges who oversaw Sara Sharif’s family court cases before she was murdered by her father and stepmother have now been named by a court. Judge Alison Raeside, Judge Peter Nathan and Judge Sally Williams were named on Friday as the three judges who were all involved in family court proceedings related to the care of the 10-year-old between 2013 and 2019 after a Court of Appeal ruling overturned a ban on the media identifying them.’
The Independent, 31st January 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘A High Court judge has made a care order in relation to a four-year-old girl (F), finding that her best interests will be met by an adoptive placement outside her family, while criticising the “unconscionable delay” in the case, which took almost 30 months to reach a conclusion’
Local Government Lawyer, 31st January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The local authority threshold statement at this stage detailed the injuries and submitted that the fractures were caused by excessive force or shaking; the bruises and abrasions caused by grabbing or squeezing. The parents had not been honest about the cause of the injuries and if one of them had caused them, the other had failed protect to Claire from being injured. Additionally, the local authority relied on an injury that had occurred earlier in the summer but had at that time not been deemed a child protection matter. The statement set out a list of concerns relating to David’s drug use and to Amy’s failure to protect Claire from the consequences. There were also references to David’s inappropriate handling of Claire although eventually this particular point was not included in the judge’s findings.’
Transparency Project, 29th January 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘One evening in autumn 2023, a young couple took their five month old baby to an emergency hospital where she was diagnosed with numerous physical injuries (some very serious) which the parents couldn’t explain. Local authority children’s services were called in and care proceedings began. The baby went into foster care under an interim care order when she left hospital. Fortunately, she soon fully recovered from the injuries. More than a year later, a full care order was made.’
Transparency Project, 29th January 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘The Court of Appeal has allowed an appeal brought by two journalists against a judge’s decision to order the anonymisation of the names of the circuit judges that had decided historic care proceedings relating to Sara Sharif, who was murdered by her father and step-mother in 2023.’
Local Government Lawyer, 17th January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘New practice guidance ‘The use of Intermediaries, Lay Advocates and Cognitive Assessments in the Family Court’, was issued by the President of the Family Division on 23 January.’
Transparency Project, 27th January 2025
Source: transparencyproject.org.uk
‘Journalists can now report from family courts in England and Wales in what the UK’s most senior family judge has called a “watershed” change.’
BBC News, 27th January 2025
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘Three judges that oversaw Sara Sharif’s family court cases before she was murdered by her father and stepmother, can be named in seven days, a court has ruled.’
The Independent, 24th January 2025
Source: www.independent.co.uk
‘In view of the name of this case HO v TL [2024] 2 FLR 175, and the fact that the family business was a hotel business, I really hope that it will become known as “The Hotel Case”. Anyway, it does deserve to become known, because it is another decision from Peel J of the type referred to by Edward Kenny in his article last month, i.e. a really useful authority that sets out fundamental points, and quite a lot of them in this case. What is more, the costs decision in this case is also reported HO v TL (Costs) [2024] 2 FLR 200 and fits into the same category.’
Becket Chambers, 18th December 2024
Source: becket-chambers.co.uk
‘The President of the Family Division has set out public-facing Practice Guidance (January 2025) for cases transitioning from the National DOL List (“NDL”) to the Court of Protection. The Practice Guidance is based on the internal guidance used by judiciary and court staff with respect to such cases, which was referred to in the October 2023 NDL national listing protocol guidance.’
Mental Capacity Law and Policy, 13th January 2025
‘An order made by a High Court judge to restrain the naming of judges who sat in proceedings concerning the late Sara Sharif, who was murdered by her father and stepmother, infringed upon the principle of open justice ‘in a manner that is without any known precedent’, the Court of Appeal heard today.’
Law Society's Gazette, 14th January 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The Family Court reporting pilot is to be rolled out nationally from Monday 27 January through changes to the Family Procedure Rules.’
Local Government Lawyer, 9th January 2025
Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk
‘The former president of the supreme court has said parents are being deprived of their human rights by having to fight for contact with their children without lawyers.’
The Guardian, 5th January 2025
Source: www.theguardian.com
‘Journalists and legal bloggers are to be allowed to report on family court cases across England and Wales from early next year.’
BBC News, 20th December 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘A bid to name the judges involved in Sara Sharif’s family court proceedings before she was killed will be heard at the Court of Appeal.’
BBC News, 19th December 2024
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
‘On 22 April 2014, the “Single” Family Court sprang into being. For those who did not practise in the predecessors, it is probably almost impossible to fathom that family justice was so clearly delineated into three separate courts, each with its own powers, approaches and, dare we say, own quirks. Indeed, prior to 2010, there were entirely separate procedural codes between the High Court/county court on the one hand and the Family Proceedings Court on the other. For those of us who have difficulty remembering one set of rules, having to remember two seemed a little unfair.’
St Ives Chambers, November 2024
Source: d23mtoo6rceerw.cloudfront.net
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