High Court: Family Division judgments, 2004

The inherent jurisdiction of the High Court is sufficiently flexible to protect an adult whose ability to make relevant decisions may be overborne by force…

Under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989, property settlement and property transfer orders are alternative forms of a single, once-and-for-all property…

A competent adult is entitled to make decisions about ending her own life, even where the decision is regarded as unwise and its implementation may involve…

Capacity to marry is assessed generally, not by asking whether a person can understand the risks or implications of marrying a particular individual. The…

In care proceedings, the burden remains on the local authority to establish the threshold facts on the balance of probabilities. Seriousness does not create a…

In an application for permission to relocate children abroad, the children’s welfare remains the paramount consideration. There is no presumption that a…

In determining a child’s best interests, the court must adopt a broad welfare evaluation rather than a purely medical assessment. The sanctity of life creates…

Under the Hague Convention, consent to a child’s temporary departure does not establish consent to permanent removal. Consent must be proved by the parent…

Pre-action disclosure should be ordered where the statutory and procedural conditions are satisfied and disclosure has a real prospect of fairly disposing of…

The supplied material does not contain the judgment’s reasoning or legal holdings.

An emergency protection order removing a child from parental care is a draconian measure. It requires exceptional justification. Immediate separation must be…

Under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, an adult child need not establish a special moral obligation before the court can find…

On a summary assessment of costs, the paying party should be ordered to pay only costs that were proportionately and reasonably incurred and reasonable in…

When threshold conditions are established, disposal under the Children Act 1989 requires the court to determine which order best promotes the child’s welfare…

An adult patient with mental illness has an absolute right to refuse medical treatment if mentally competent, even where the refusal appears irrational.…

In ancillary relief proceedings, inherited property must be included in the discretionary assessment under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. Its…

For an adoption order under the Adoption Act 1976, the child’s qualifying “home” during the preceding 12 months need not be in England or Wales and need not be…

An interim declaration may be granted under Civil Procedure Rules 1998, Part 25, in proceedings concerning medical treatment of an adult who may lack capacity.…

In child abduction proceedings, the Article 13(b) threshold is stringent. Domestic violence directed at a parent does not, by itself, establish a grave risk to…

Where proceedings under the Hague Convention are commenced more than one year after wrongful removal or retention, and the child is demonstrated to be settled…

Family proceedings remain civil proceedings, even where the facts may amount to serious criminal conduct. The applicable standard is the balance of…

Intractable opposition by a residential parent to contact is not, by itself, a proper reason to restrict a child’s relationship with the other parent. The…

In ancillary-relief proceedings involving substantial assets held in family trusts, fairness under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 does not require equal…

A settlement remains capable of variation under Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, s 24(1)(c), if it exists when the variation order is made and was ante-nuptial or…

Intractable contact disputes require prompt, active and proportionate case management centred on the child’s welfare. Courts must investigate allegations…

A beneficiary seeking information about the administration of an estate may properly invoke the court’s power to require a personal representative to exhibit…

Section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 protects the privacy of children proceedings. It prohibits dissemination of material from private hearings…

In ancillary relief proceedings, the court must apply the statutory factors to achieve a fair distribution of matrimonial assets. Property held in joint legal…

In care proceedings, the civil standard remains the balance of probabilities. Where allegations are inherently improbable or particularly serious, the court…

A shared residence order is appropriate where children spend substantial and meaningful periods living with both parents and the order reflects the reality of…

The Protocol for Judicial Case Management in Public Law Children Act Cases is a practical tool whose application must further, rather than impair, family…

A challenge to a decision about a child living with her imprisoned mother is a public law challenge. The court reviews the Secretary of State’s decision and…

Periodical payments must be determined by reference to all the circumstances and the statutory factors, not by applying a rigid ceiling based on needs or…