Children: Public Law Update (August 2018) – Family Law Week
‘John Tughan QC of 4 Paper Buildings reviews recent, important Children Public Law cases.’
Family Law Week, 15th August 2018
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Category: witnesses
Court warning after solicitor called by own client to give evidence – Law Society’s Gazette
‘A High Court judge has made clear that clients should resist calling their own solicitor to give evidence, warning that to do so may give rise to a potential conflict of interest.’
Law Society's Gazette, 14th August 2018
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
Vexatious ex-solicitor “said first thing that came into her head” – Legal Futures
‘A struck-off solicitor called to give evidence over a will she drafted often said “the first thing that came into her without reflecting on whether it was correct”, the High Court has found.’
Legal Futures, 9th August 2018
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
Judge takes over father’s cross-examination in case involving rape allegations – and it ends up being unfair on everyone involved – Transparency Project
‘Mr Justice Hayden is a High Court Judge who has been very outspoken about the potential for the court process to be abusive of those who are already victims of domestic abuse. In a case called Re A (a minor) (fact finding; unrepresented party) [2017] EWHC 1195 (Fam), having permitted the unrepresented father to directly question the mother (albeit with special measures in place so they didn’t have to confront each other by line of sight) he memorably said ‘Never again’. Hayden J said it was ‘a stain on the reputation of our Family Justice system that a Judge can still not prevent a victim being cross examined by an alleged perpetrator’. Today he has published an appeal judgment overturning a fact-finding decision in a case where another judge tried to cross examine the mother on behalf of the father accused of rape because (Hayden J said) the process was unfair and the decision unsound. The full judgment can be read here : PS v BP [2018] EWHC 1987 (Fam) (27 July 2018), but this blog post explains it.’
Transparency Project, 30th July 2018
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
Speech by Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division: Because it is the right thing to do – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
‘Speech by Sir James Munby, President of the Family Division: Because it is the right thing to do.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 24th July 2018
Source: www.judiciary.uk
Judicial Protocol update: Expedition of Cases Involving Witnesses Under 10 Years – Courts and Tribunals Judiciary
‘A Protocol between The National Police Chiefs’ Council, The Crown Prosecution Service and Her Majesty’s Courts & Tribunals Service to Expedite Cases Involving Witnesses Under 10 Years.’
Courts and Tribunals Judiciary, 13th July 2018
Source: www.judiciary.uk
Farming disputes and proprietary estoppel: Gee v Gee – Family Law
‘In recent years there has been a procession of farming proprietary estoppel cases, the most famous of which was probably Davies v Davies [2016] EWCA Civ 463, [2017] 1 FLR 1286 with the claimant in that case capturing the media’s attention as the “Cowshed Cinderella”. On 11 June 2018 Mr Justice Birss, sitting in Bristol, handed down judgment on the latest, the case of Gee v Gee & Anor [2018] EWHC 1393 (Ch), [2018] All ER (D) 58 (Jun).’
Family Law, 4th July 2018
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
A very English scandal – New Law Journal
‘Alec Samuels shares his reflections on the legal significance of the Jeremy Thorpe case.’
New Law Journal, 21st June 2018
Source: www.newlawjournal.co.uk
High court blocks Amber Rudd attempt to deport witness – The Guardian
‘Amber Rudd has lost a legal battle over her attempts to deport a key witness to a controversial death at a UK immigration centre. Jamaican Andrew Van Horn was due to be expelled from the country this week, despite the likelihood that he would be summoned to appear at an inquest into the death, and to a separate police investigation.’
The Guardian, 28th April 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Litigant’s claim struck out for discussing case during break in giving evidence – a cautionary tale – Transparency Project
‘It’s one of the cardinal rules of court procedure: once you’ve entered the witness box and started to give evidence, you mustn’t discuss the case with anyone outside court, if there’s a break in the proceedings, until you’ve finished giving evidence.’
Transparency Project, 15th April 2018
Source: www.transparencyproject.org.uk
New limb (g) added to Wimbledon v Vago principles and fraud allegations merit stay – Practical Law: Construction Blog
‘Last week, Fraser J handed down his judgment in Gosvenor London Ltd v Aygun UK Ltd, a case in which the defendant (Aygun) was seeking to resist payment of an adjudicator’s award of around £650,000 on the grounds that a substantial part of the award was allegedly derived from fraudulent invoicing of Aygun. In the alternative, Aygun sought a stay on the basis of fraud, alleged witness intimidation and, most importantly, the entirely unsatisfactory nature of the claimant’s (Gosvenor) statutory accounts for 2016/2017 and the unbelievable explanations given on its behalf as to the contents. This combination of factors led the court to conclude it was unlikely that Gosvenor would repay the adjudicator’s award, were it required to do so following a challenge to the adjudicator’s decision in subsequent TCC proceedings.’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 4th April 2018
Witness “was not a reliable historian” – Practical Law: Construction Blog
‘I like reading Fraser J’s judgments. Where else would you get phrases such as “banter in a public house during consumption of a gallon of ale (or lager)” and “quite apart from any illumination of the wisdom (or otherwise) of discussing (still less agreeing) incentive payments of such extraordinary size at an evening of drinking in the Horse & Groom”, nestled in among legal analysis? (He was talking about Blue v Ashley, which I’m sure was an interesting informal business meeting!).’
Practical Law: Construction Blog, 27th March 2018
Judges told to limit observers if witness has to remove veil – The Guardian
‘Judges should restrict the number of observers allowed into court when defendants or witnesses are compelled to remove their veil to give evidence, new guidance to judges recommends.’
The Guardian, 28th February 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Does the inclusion of families and children in family proceedings go far enough? – Family Law Week
‘Adele Cameron-Douglas, barrister of 4 Paper Buildings, asks how children can continue to be involved in proceedings that concern them after their conclusion.’
Family Law Week, 22nd February 2018
Source: www.familylawweek.co.uk
Helping child witnesses: ‘One girl gave evidence with a hamster on her lap’ – The Guardian
‘They might be victims of rape, or witnesses to murder. But can they really be relied upon to tell the truth at trial?’
The Guardian, 17th February 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Child victims let down by lack of help in court, says UK watchdog – The Guardian
‘Hundreds of the most vulnerable victims of crime are being prevented from testifying against their attackers because of a shortage of experts to help them give evidence, the victims’ commissioner warns in a report on Wednesday.’
The Guardian, 17th January 2018
Source: www.theguardian.com
Bank held negligent for failing to ensure promissory note was properly signed – OUT-LAW.com
‘The bank arranger of a $650 million Islamic bond financing deal has been found negligent for failing to ensure that a promissory note, used as security, was properly signed.’
OUT-LAW.com, 8th January 2018
Source: www.out-law.com
Evidence of children and vulnerable witnesses: Part 2 – Family Law
‘The first article in this series of two dealt with circumstances where particular arrangements might be appropriate for children and vulnerable as witnesses in family proceedings. This article looks at the type of measure which the court can provide for such witnesses; and at how these measures are dealt with in common law and under statutory provision. As mentioned at the end of this article, the funding of assessment for, and thus the effective operation of, such measures is not something the Lord Chancellor and his Ministry of Justice seems fully – or at all? – to have put their minds to.’
Family Law, 12th December 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
Child friendly courts: what we can learn from America – Legal Voice
‘At the tender age of seven, I was faced with the prospect of having to go to court to give evidence. Fortunately, the case settled and I was spared the ordeal of going to court, but I will never forget the endless sleepless nights and distress I felt at the thought of it. The experience made me determined to do whatever I could when I was older to prevent any other child feeling this way.’
Legal Voice, 11th December 2017
Source: www.legalvoice.org.uk
Evidence of children and vulnerable witnesses: Part 1 – Family Law
‘This article (the first of two) considers the evidence of any witness in family proceedings where that evidence diverges from the general procedural rules (as explained below) for evidence in family proceedings.’
Family Law, 8th December 2017
Source: www.familylaw.co.uk
