D (A Child), Re

An application for permission to appeal in child residence proceedings will fail where delay has made further judicial determination impossible. If the child will attain majority before any further judicial process can occur, the Court of Appeal will lose jurisdiction in relation to the child and the application is doomed to failure.

Mr D applied for permission to appeal against an order made by Stuart White J on 18 April 1996. The order had dismissed his application for a residence order, which would have discharged an existing care order concerning his daughter.

The application was nearly five years out of date. The child, who had been 13 when the High Court gave judgment, was about to attain majority. The central issue was whether any effective appellate process remained possible.

1. The application for permission to appeal was dismissed.
2. The application was nearly five years stale. The relief sought concerned the residence of a child who was then on the threshold of majority.
3. The child would attain majority before any further judicial process could take place. As a result, the Court of Appeal would lose jurisdiction in relation to her, making the application incapable of further determination.
4. Mr D sensibly accepted that the application could not succeed. The court therefore dismissed it.

1. High Court of Justice, Family Division: Stuart White J dismissed Mr D’s application for a residence order on 18 April 1996. The proposed order would have discharged the existing care order.
2. Court of Appeal (Civil Division): The application for permission to appeal was dismissed because the delay and the child’s imminent majority meant that the court would lose jurisdiction before any further judicial process could occur.