High Court: Family Division judgments, 2014

Article 15 of Brussels IIa does not apply to proceedings concerning adoption or measures preparatory to adoption. Under section 47(5) of the Adoption and…

Permission to appeal from a financial remedy consent order may be granted where subsequent evidence provides a realistic prospect that significant…

A child’s removal abroad is an abduction where the removing parent has no genuine intention of returning the child, even if initially presented as a holiday.…

In care proceedings, findings of fact must be based on evidence and not speculation. The court must assess each item of evidence within the wider evidential…

Publication and reporting restrictions should be reviewed as circumstances change. Information may be published where it no longer materially increases the…

An adoption arrangement made privately, or involving payments which may constitute criminal offences, is not automatically a bar to an adoption order. The…

In a financial remedy case, pre-marital wealth is a contribution to be weighed under Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 25. The court may distinguish…

The High Court may use its inherent jurisdiction to grant injunctions protecting a child from child sexual exploitation where the statutory framework does not…

In a very high-value financial remedy case, assets are valued at the date of trial, but post-separation growth need not be treated as part of the marital…

The Child Support Act 1991 creates a clear division between child-support calculations and the court’s Schedule 1 jurisdiction. Where a maintenance calculation…

Where a party knowingly breaches a financial disclosure order, the court may impose committal proceedings even if substantial payments have since been made.…

Spousal maintenance should ordinarily meet needs generated by choices made during the marriage. It should be assessed by reference to needs, resources and the…

Permission to take children to a non-Hague Convention country depends on their best interests. The court must be positively satisfied that the benefits of the…

Recognition and enforcement of a foreign child-custody measure may be refused under Article 23(2)(b) of the 1996 Hague Convention where the child was not given…

The power under Article 15 of Brussels II Revised is exceptional and may be exercised only where three questions are answered affirmatively: the child has a…

Permission to remove children temporarily to a non-Hague Convention country should be granted only where the court is positively satisfied that the advantages…

In a long marriage with substantial assets, equality remains the starting point, but the court must assess fairness in the light of liquidity, the nature of…

An order under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 is concerned with the curtailment of liberty, not the designation of a particular establishment. The…

Family litigation must be conducted proportionately, having regard to the nature, importance and complexity of the issues, the need to save expense and the…

In financial remedy proceedings, the court may make a personal lump-sum order to restore assets improperly diverted or debts incurred through one spouse’s…

Permission to appeal in family financial remedy proceedings requires a realistic rather than fanciful prospect of success. On appeal, the court must respect…

Proceedings under the Hague Convention on the International Aspects of Child Abduction 1980 have the limited purpose of securing a prompt return so that the…

In an international relocation case, the child’s welfare is paramount. There is no presumption favouring relocation by a primary carer. Court of Appeal…

Permission to appeal a financial remedy order may be granted only where the appeal has a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success, or where another…

In a contested adoption application, the court must undertake a global and holistic evaluation of all realistic options. The question is whether the child’s…

A foreign marriage may be recognised in England where its local formalities were satisfied and the evidence does not clearly establish an incapacity or…

Permission for expert evidence or an assessment in children proceedings requires more than usefulness, reasonableness or desirability. The evidence or…

Under the UK-Pakistan child-abduction protocol, the English court should ordinarily avoid exercising jurisdiction beyond ordering the child’s return where an…

In Hague Convention proceedings, the usual order is not automatically no order as to costs. The court retains a broad discretion and must consider all the…

In a very long marriage, the sharing principle ordinarily requires the fruits of the marriage to be divided equally where both spouses have made equal…

Under Article 19 of Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003, proceedings for legal separation and divorce may constitute a true lis pendens where the separation…

Consent to a child’s removal under Article 13(a) of the Hague Convention must be clear and unequivocal. The court assesses consent in the realities of family…

Under Article 13B of the Hague Convention, the person opposing return bears the burden of proving, on the balance of probabilities, a grave risk of physical or…

In a step-parent adoption application, the requirement that a child has lived with the applicant for the preceding six months must be assessed in the context…

In financial remedy proceedings, the court may adjust the division of assets to equalise a disparity in the parties’ litigation costs. Any further costs order…

Leave granted without notice under Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984, section 13, should be set aside only where the respondent demonstrates a…

In proceedings concerning the return of children, the court may proceed to determine the matter where a respondent, despite service and orders to attend, fails…

In care proceedings with an international element, jurisdiction under Brussels II Revised depends primarily on the child’s habitual residence when the court is…

A post-nuptial settlement requires an existing disposition providing continuing financial provision for one or both spouses in their capacity as spouses. A…

Under the Hague Convention, rights of custody receive an autonomous and purposive interpretation. A parent’s joint rights concerning a child’s residence and…

In disputed child-injury fact-finding proceedings, a medical consensus that inflicted trauma is the likely explanation does not make that explanation…

For the purposes of Article 19 of Brussels II revised, the meaning of an established jurisdiction may require clarification where proceedings in the court…

In determining a child’s future living arrangements, the child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration. Where protective measures are proposed for…

In fact-finding proceedings concerning alleged child sexual abuse, findings must be based on evidence and not suspicion or speculation. The court must evaluate…

Intractable hostility by a non-parent carer cannot justify restricting a child’s relationship with a parent where the child’s welfare requires contact. The…

Issue estoppel arising from a foreign judgment requires identity of the issue actually determined. A foreign court’s conclusion that its own jurisdiction is…

Habitual residence is determined objectively by asking whether the person has established a sufficiently stable and permanent centre of interests in the…

In contempt proceedings, the court may defer sentence where the primary objective is to prevent repetition of the misconduct and subsequent compliance provides…

Recognition and enforcement of a foreign custody decision may be refused where enforcement would be manifestly incompatible with fundamental principles of…

In care proceedings, a child should be brought up within the natural family wherever consistent with welfare. Adoption is an extreme measure and may be…

For jurisdiction under BIIR, habitual residence is a factual question focused on whether the child is integrated to some degree in a social and family…

In care proceedings, the court must determine disputed allegations where the findings may affect the children’s welfare or future decisions, but the…

On an urgent without-notice application for protective relief, the court may continue an interim order where the available material discloses a serious…

A location order made in private proceedings should be discharged where it has not been served in accordance with the court’s express directions and the…

Permission to oppose an adoption application requires a two-stage assessment. The court must first decide whether there has been a relevant change of…

In financial remedy proceedings, inherited or gifted property does not lose its non-matrimonial character merely because it has been mingled with matrimonial…

Maintenance pending suit is an interim jurisdiction directed to immediate income needs which cannot await determination of the substantive financial claims.…

When deciding whether life-sustaining treatment should be withheld or withdrawn from a child lacking capacity, the court must make its own objective assessment…

Contempt proceedings require proof to the criminal standard. An allegation should not proceed where the evidence does not establish a prima facie case. An…

A six-month time limit for applying for a parental order under section 54(3) of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 is not an absolute bar. Whether…

An ex tempore judgment and the exchanges immediately following it should be read together as a coherent whole when determining the order the judge intended to…

In deciding whether life-sustaining treatment should be withdrawn from a child, the court must determine the child’s overall best interests. The assessment is…

Where a party’s personal attendance has been contemplated or required for a substantive hearing, fairness may require an adjournment if that party is…

Leave under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 should be set aside only where the claim is plainly unmeritorious or the respondent can…

Anticipatory declaratory relief authorising separation of a mother and newborn, or concealment of the plan from her, is available only in wholly exceptional…

In an application under the Hague Convention 1980, consent to a child’s retention must be clear and unequivocal, though it need not be written. The burden…

A final care hearing should be adjourned where the available time is insufficient to determine disputed threshold and welfare issues fairly, particularly where…

In enforcement proceedings, the court may examine the reality of a debtor’s resources rather than rely solely on numerical schedules or asserted insolvency.…

A procedural breach does not justify striking out a claim where the breach is minor and strike-out would be disproportionate or unjust. The court must exercise…

Care and placement orders severing family ties should be made only where nothing else will do. The court must compare realistic alternatives, including special…

For the purposes of dispensing with parental consent under section 52 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, the question whether a parent “cannot be found”…

In decisions about medical treatment for a child, welfare is paramount, with regard to the child’s rights under Articles 2 and 8 of the European Convention.…

In a Hague Convention return application, a child’s objection is a gateway issue. The court must ask whether the child objects to return, whether she has…

There is no freestanding entitlement to disclosure of evidence after proceedings have concluded. Disclosure exists to support a fair trial, so it will not…

Unilateral removal of children from their country of habitual residence without the other parent’s consent may be unlawful, but the resulting wrongdoing does…

An agreement reached during financial remedy negotiations is not enforceable as an ordinary contract where it forms part of, or is sufficiently linked to, the…

In deciding whether life-sustaining treatment should be withheld from a child, the court must determine the child’s best interests. Treatment may properly be…

Habitual residence is determined as a question of fact by assessing the child’s integration in a social and family environment. Parental intentions are…

In private-law proceedings concerning a young child, contact arrangements must be determined by the child’s welfare and kept under review. Where existing…

When authorising medical treatment for a child, the court’s paramount consideration is the child’s welfare and best interests. Parents’ wishes and religious…

Under the Brussels II Revised Regulation, recognition of a judgment concerning parental responsibility is subject to mutual trust and a prohibition on…

A parent’s undertaking to return a child removed from the jurisdiction may amount to an express and unequivocal acceptance that the court retains jurisdiction…

In financial remedy proceedings following an overseas divorce, the court must identify the parties’ resources and make a fair outcome by applying the statutory…

A judgment summons under section 5 of the Debtors Act 1869 is criminal in character. The applicant bears the burden of proving, to the criminal standard, that…

Recognition of a foreign adoption at common law involves three questions: whether it was lawfully obtained, whether the foreign concept of adoption…

A judgment summons concerning maintenance arrears may proceed only where the statutory requirements for committal are satisfied. An application to adjourn on…

Applications for reporting restrictions must be carefully analysed by the applicant, particularly where the applicant is a public authority. The court should…

In private law children proceedings, a supervision order requires reasonable cause to believe that the child is suffering, or is likely to suffer, significant…

Relocation applications are determined by applying the child-welfare principle in section 1 of the Children Act 1989. The court must consider all relevant…

Leave to apply for financial relief under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 should be granted where there is a substantial ground for…

In cases involving established domestic abuse, child arrangements must be assessed against the child’s welfare, the harm already suffered, and the risk of…

A challenge to a public body’s decision about disclosure of a serious case review is a matter of administrative law. It must be brought by judicial review…

Under the Hague Convention, a child’s return must be ordered where wrongful removal or retention is established and no Article 13 defence succeeds. Married…

A child’s habitual residence depends on the circumstances of the child’s life and the degree of integration into the relevant social and family environment.…

Litigants in person must comply with the ordinary procedural requirements applicable to all court applications. The court is not an advice bureau and does not…

Non-consensual adoption is a measure of last resort. A court must be satisfied that nothing else will do and must identify clear evidence that no realistic…

In determining whether to authorise medical treatment for a child, the court must make the child’s welfare paramount. Best interests include medical…

A parental order may be made where the statutory conditions in Human Fertilisation & Embryology Act 2008, section 54, are satisfied and the order is necessary…

When determining a reporting restriction application, the court must balance the rights under articles 8 and 10 of the ECHR without giving either presumptive…

In high-conflict private-law children proceedings, an 11-year-old child required joinder and separate representation by an independent guardian where the…

For committal for breach of a mandatory order, the applicant must prove to the criminal standard that the order was clear, that it was not obeyed, and that…

Contempt of court is proved to the criminal standard, and the burden remains on the party bringing the committal application. Imprisonment is not automatic…

Financial remedy proceedings remain private under rule 27.10 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010, and the admission of accredited media does not create an…

When determining whether spousal periodical payments should reduce or terminate, the court must assess the payee’s realistic future earning capacity and…

In proceedings for financial provision for a child, the court may stay proceedings on forum non conveniens grounds where parallel proceedings remain pending in…

In care proceedings involving parental substance misuse, genuine motivation and success in a controlled environment do not by themselves establish that a child…

In care proceedings, the threshold under Children Act 1989, section 31, is objective and does not require findings of parental culpability. The local authority…

In exceptional circumstances, the court may authorise a child’s change of forename as well as surname where compelling evidence shows that identification…

When considering a request under Article 15 of Brussels II Revised, the court must ask whether the requested court is better placed to hear the case and…

A separation agreement should generally be upheld where it was freely entered into and each party understood its implications, unless the circumstances make it…

In care proceedings, the local authority must prove disputed facts on the balance of probabilities. The court must decide whether the alleged event occurred; a…

A foreign matrimonial property regime is a circumstance relevant to financial remedy proceedings, but it does not displace the court’s statutory discretion…

Habitual residence is determined by the child’s degree of integration in a social and family environment. For an infant, that environment is shared with those…

The withholding of a local authority’s care plan from a parent is permissible only in an extreme case where it is justified by the overriding necessity of the…

An application for leave to revoke a placement order requires a two-stage decision. The applicant must first establish a change in circumstances of a nature…

Where a spouse is deliberately left without secure immigration status and is then sent abroad, the resulting separation from a child may constitute a serious…

An arrangement is a nuptial settlement where it makes continuing provision for one or both spouses. Where a trust gives trustees power to advance the whole…

In an international care case, a court with jurisdiction may request transfer under Article 15 only where the child has a particular connection with another…

The without prejudice principle requires a bona fide attempt to resolve a reasonably coherent and definable dispute. The question whether communications were…

In care proceedings, the court may infer a parent’s knowledge of abuse from the cumulative circumstances, including repeated injuries, implausible…

In care proceedings, the threshold is satisfied where children are beyond the control of their carer and are consequently at risk of significant harm. Once the…

Safeguarding checks on a non-party household member are not automatically required in every private-law children case. Their necessity depends on the…

Applications to revoke placement orders, discharge care orders and obtain further residential assessment require close attention to the statutory tests, the…

The Family Court may order disclosure and limited use of DNA profiles held by the police where no statutory prohibition applies. The court must balance the…

The without prejudice rule protects communications made in a genuine attempt to compromise a real dispute capable of settlement. A document need not be…

A request under Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003, Article 15, to transfer jurisdiction in child-protection proceedings is exceptional and discretionary. It…

Family court orders, including interlocutory case-management directions, must be obeyed strictly and on time. A party unable to comply must apply for an…

In a fact-finding hearing, the party making allegations bears the burden of proving them on the ordinary civil standard. Allegations should be examined…

Welfare remains the paramount consideration in determining contact, despite the general benefit of a child having a relationship with both parents. An order…

A court may determine a judgment summons under the Debtors Act 1869 despite a limited stay of enforcement, provided that execution of any resulting prison…

In family fact-finding proceedings, the burden remains on the party alleging non-accidental injury. The standard is the balance of probabilities. A suspected…

A legal services payment order is directed principally to securing appropriate legal representation for the future. It is not a surrogate inter partes costs…

Where a child lacks capacity to decide whether to terminate a pregnancy, the court’s function is limited. Doctors must independently decide whether the…

International relocation is determined by the child’s welfare, without a presumption in favour of either relocation or the parent with whom the child lives.…

In care proceedings, the court determines facts on the balance of probabilities. Serious injuries may be found non-accidental where the medical evidence…

In care and placement proceedings, learning disability alone does not establish the statutory threshold. The court must assess actual or prospective…

Under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980, a child wrongfully removed from the state of habitual residence should…

The inherent jurisdiction may permit temporary non-disclosure of a local authority’s plan to remove a child at birth only in an extreme and highly exceptional…

A court may override the refusal of a Gillick -competent child to undergo life-saving medical treatment where the treatment is objectively in the child’s best…

Care and placement orders, including non-consensual adoption, are exceptional and may be made only where the child’s welfare demonstrates that no less…

In a summary child-return application under the international abduction regime, the court’s duty is to order return once wrongful removal or retention is…

Where a spouse’s apparent financial position is inconsistent with the evidence of lifestyle, cash receipts and available facilities, the court may assess the…

A reporting restriction order affecting the press and broadcast media is an exceptional remedy. The court must conduct an intense and fact-sensitive…

An application for permission to oppose adoption requires a two-stage inquiry. The court must first decide whether there has been a change in circumstances…

A court may dismiss an existing matrimonial petition without deciding its merits so that a fresh petition can be issued, where that course advances the…

Recognition of a child-protection measure made in another Contracting State occurs automatically under Article 23(1) of the 1996 Hague Child Protection…

Permission to appeal was refused where the local authority gave categorical assurances resolving the factual concerns underlying the proposed grounds. The…

A local authority must comply with an extant court order regulating contact unless and until the order is varied by the court. It cannot unilaterally terminate…

For the purposes of Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, section 37, a disposition may be set aside where a subsidiary intention to frustrate or impede enforcement…

A court may appoint a receiver as an enforcement measure where a judgment debtor has shown extreme and continuing defiance of maintenance or other orders. An…

Where a parent has notice of an adoption hearing but has not applied for leave to oppose under section 47(5) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, the court…

For the purposes of an application under the Hague Convention, an agreed permanent move of children from one country to another is not converted into wrongful…

In a contested adoption application, the court must apply the statutory language carefully to the particular facts. Under section 52(1)(b) of the Adoption and…

In care proceedings alleging non-accidental injury, the local authority bears the burden of proving the relevant facts on the balance of probabilities. The…

Open justice and freedom of expression may justify identifying a family in a published family judgment where the case is already notorious and the public…

A child’s capacity to consent to medical treatment is decision-specific. A child under 16 is competent where he or she has sufficient maturity and intelligence…

Under rule 4.1(6) of the Family Procedure Rules 2010, the High Court may vary or revoke a final substantive order made by a judge of equivalent jurisdiction.…

A financial remedy order cannot be made before decree nisi. However, a court may hear and determine contested financial issues before decree nisi and give an…

Where a property settlement provides for a future sale and replacement property, the court must give effect to the intended meaning of the order’s financial…

When jurisdiction under Article 15 of Council Regulation 2201/2003 may be material in care proceedings, the issue should be addressed at the earliest…

In a fact-finding hearing, the court must determine disputed events by applying the civil standard of proof: whether an event is more likely than not to have…

A child’s habitual residence is determined by the facts, with particular attention to the child’s integration in a social and family environment. A court with…

In a dispute about life-sustaining treatment for a child lacking decision-making capacity, the court must make an independent and objective assessment of the…

Where a respondent deliberately breaches mandatory orders requiring the return of a child, the court may make successive mandatory injunctions giving further…

Permission to appeal in care and placement proceedings should be refused where the proposed ground has no realistic prospect of success, particularly where it…

Permission to apply under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 should be set aside where a foreign agreement has finally and fairly…

In adoption proceedings, the court may proceed despite the Home Office’s failure to engage where it has been given ample opportunity to participate and further…

Interim alteration of a child’s residence in private-law proceedings requires the child’s welfare to remain the paramount consideration. The court must subject…

Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 permits financial relief in England after a foreign divorce where England and Wales is the…

In an international surrogacy case, parental orders may be made where the statutory conditions are satisfied, including the applicants’ domicile, biological…

In care proceedings, a finding that a parent fabricated or induced illness does not, without more, establish that the parent physically abused the child.…

In care proceedings alleging non-accidental injury, the local authority bears the burden of proving its case on the balance of probabilities. The court must…

A child’s participation in committal proceedings concerning a parent is fact-sensitive. Party status is not automatic, and effective participation does not…

When assessing financial relief, the court may take account of wealth held by a third party where the evidence provides sufficient confidence that it will be…

Direct contact will ordinarily promote a child’s relationship with an absent parent. However, the court may restrict contact to indirect contact where there…

In fact-finding proceedings concerning suspected child abuse, the local authority bears the burden of proving each allegation on the balance of probabilities.…

Habitual residence under Brussels II Revised is a factual question focused on the child’s integration in a social and family environment. The court must avoid…

Under Article 12.3 of Council Regulation (EC) 2201/2003, prorogation of jurisdiction requires a substantial connection, unequivocal acceptance by all parties…

Recognition of a foreign parental-responsibility judgment may be refused under Article 23(c) of Brussels II Revised where the judgment was given in default of…

In public law proceedings, the court must treat the child’s welfare as paramount while assessing future risk alongside the other welfare factors. An…

In determining a child’s welfare, the court must treat welfare as paramount and give proper regard to the statutory welfare checklist. The child’s wishes and…

A child under 16 may consent to medical treatment where she has sufficient understanding and intelligence to understand what it involves. The primary question…

In an adoption application, a natural father with possible foreign parental responsibility is not automatically entitled to notice under English adoption law…

Where parties agree a child’s long-term care arrangements, the court must independently determine whether the agreement meets the child’s welfare needs. A…

In determining public and private law applications concerning children, their welfare remains paramount. The court must choose a proportionate order and should…

Where a child cannot safely remain within the natural family, the court must assess the realistic welfare options, including adoption and long-term fostering.…

Where proceedings concern the variation of a contact order or permission to change a child’s surname, the court must appoint a children’s guardian unless…

A constructive trust may arise from the circumstances in which property is acquired or dealt with, where it would be unconscionable for the legal owner to deny…

Under Part 2 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, legal parenthood in an international surrogacy case depends on the statutory rules, not on…

Where children are habitually resident in England and Wales when care proceedings commence, the courts of England and Wales have primary jurisdiction under…

When considering termination of a periodical payments order, the court may make termination conditional on a future event, such as actual retirement, rather…

In disputes about beneficial ownership, an express declaration of trust will ordinarily determine the parties’ interests unless fraud, including a sham…

A person served with a location order must disclose information within their knowledge or understanding which might reasonably assist in locating children.…

On an appeal concerning enforcement of maintenance arrears, the High Court will not interfere with a district judge’s discretionary decision unless it contains…

Habitual residence is a question of fact, assessed by the child’s integration in a social and family environment. For an infant, that environment is ordinarily…

A parental assessment in care proceedings must be fair, robust and thorough. It must assess parenting ability, the support available, the parent’s ability to…

Under the Maintenance Regulation, a choice of court agreement need not take the form of contractual offer and acceptance. The court may infer agreement from…

Under section 32 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, leave to enforce maintenance arrears older than twelve months is discretionary. The applicant bears a…

Under Article 41 of the Maintenance Regulation No. 4/2009, a maintenance decision enforceable in another Member State must be enforced under the same…

Maintenance pending suit is an interim remedy requiring a broad-brush assessment of what the applicant reasonably needs until fuller consideration. The court…

In Hague Convention child-abduction proceedings, habitual residence is a factual inquiry focused on the child’s integration in a social and family environment.…

Recognition and enforcement of a judgment from another Member State under Brussels II Revised are distinct and ordinarily mandatory stages. They may be refused…

Habitual residence is a question of fact, determined by examining the reality of the child’s day-to-day life. The central inquiry is whether the child has…

Under Article 15 of EU Council Regulation 2201/2003, a court with jurisdiction may request transfer to a court in another member State only where three…

A legal services payment order is an interim order ancillary to the divorce suit. If the suit is stayed, the application for such an order must also be stayed.…

Where a clinic’s failure to provide statutory information and obtain properly informed consent prevents compliance with gamete-storage regulations, the court…

Family proceedings should be adjourned where a newly raised issue is sufficiently grave and materially overlaps with the facts already scheduled for…

Where an informal surrogacy arrangement has not been regularised by a parental order or adoption, legal parenthood and parental responsibility follow the…

An agreement to mediate before litigation may be enforceable where its subject matter, required steps and means of termination are sufficiently clear and…

Where a party accepts that the court would make the same findings after a contested fact-finding hearing, the court may determine the facts without conducting…

Recognition of an overseas divorce may be refused where the applicant failed to take reasonable steps to notify the other spouse, even though the divorce is…

A reporting restrictions order affecting the identification of persons connected with a public criminal trial should be made only where the evidence…

A parental order under Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, section 54, requires strict compliance with the statutory criteria, particularly the…

When jurisdiction to entertain divorce proceedings is disputed, the court may still award maintenance pending suit. It should assess the apparent strength of…

Permission to take children temporarily to a non-Hague Convention country requires a welfare assessment focused on three matters: the risk of breach, the…

In an application under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975, the assessment has two stages: whether the disposition makes reasonable…

Passport and related protective orders can substantially interfere with personal liberty and must therefore be made cautiously, proportionately and for no…

Habitual residence is determined by the child’s integration in a social and family environment. For an infant, that environment is ordinarily shared with the…

Confidentiality in private family proceedings is not absolute. Information may be disclosed in accordance with the Family Procedure Rules 2010 and the relevant…

International judicial liaison is a mechanism for obtaining practical, neutral information between courts. It is not a route to obtain legal advice, avoid…

Nuptial agreements must be given weight in the discretionary exercise under section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. The weight may range from slight to…

Under section 45(3) of the Family Law Act 1996, an ex parte order must be followed very shortly by a full inter partes hearing. Liberty to apply does not…

In a non-Convention child-retention case, the court must determine whether summary return or fuller welfare investigation best serves the individual child. The…

In private law fact-finding proceedings, allegations are determined on the balance of probabilities. Neither the seriousness of the allegation nor the…

Meeting the statutory threshold does not automatically require a care order or adoption. The court must consider the full range of available orders and…

At the interim stage, maintenance pending suit and a legal services payment order are intended to hold the ring and secure reasonable living expenses and…

Consent to a child’s removal under the Hague child abduction convention must be clear and unequivocal. Assistance with travel, financial support or an…

In care proceedings concerning a child who had been trafficked into the United Kingdom, the threshold under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 was crossed…

A nuptial agreement should be given effect where it was freely entered into with a full appreciation of its implications, unless fairness requires otherwise.…

In care proceedings involving alleged non-accidental injury, the local authority bears the burden of proving the threshold facts on the balance of…

In prolonged private-law disputes concerning children, the court should address the causes and harmful effects of entrenched conflict and promote arrangements…

In applications concerning child contact, the child’s welfare is paramount. Contact with a non-residential parent is generally beneficial, but direct or…

A parental order may be made for a child born through international surrogacy where the requirements of Human Fertilisation & Embryology Act 2008, s 54 are…

In a family hearing held in public, exclusion of a prospective witness requires a judicial discretion exercised for good reason. The court may exclude a…

Where a child requires urgent medical treatment, the court must determine the child’s welfare and best interests in the light of the medical evidence. Strong…

In committal proceedings, where breach depends on the respondent’s ability to comply with an order, every fact establishing that ability must be proved to the…

In civil fact-finding proceedings concerning alleged child abuse, the burden and standard of proof remain the balance of probabilities, regardless of the…

Transfer under Article 15 of the Brussels II Revised Regulation 2003 is exceptional. A court with jurisdiction must be satisfied both that the child has a…

At an interim care stage, the court must decide only issues that cannot await the substantive hearing. Removal of a newborn from a parent requires a high…

Permission to oppose an adoption order requires a two-stage inquiry. The applicant must first show a change in circumstances since the placement order. If that…

Disclosure of judgments from care proceedings to the police is governed by the statutory and procedural scheme for confidential family proceedings. Where…

A Reporting Restriction Order may restrict publication of a criminal defendant’s identity where identification would expose children to serious harm. The court…

Where children are present and settled in England and Wales, and the evidence concerning their current welfare is located here, the court may determine that…

In care proceedings, the civil standard of proof applies equally to whether harm was non-accidental and to the identity of the perpetrator. Serious allegations…

not stated in the judgment.

In an application under the Hague Convention, acquiescence depends on the wronged parent’s actual state of mind. The court must assess the evidence as a whole…

A parental order may be made where the statutory conditions are satisfied and the order clearly serves the child’s welfare. Domicile is distinct from residence…

In care proceedings involving disputed medical causation, the local authority bears the burden of proving the alleged harm on the balance of probabilities. The…

A person subject to an order requiring steps to secure a child’s return and disclosure of the child’s whereabouts commits a serious contempt by knowingly…

In financial remedy proceedings, deliberate non-disclosure and lies may justify adverse inferences, but they do not automatically establish the existence or…

In care proceedings alleging non-accidental injury, the local authority bears the burden of proving each allegation on the balance of probabilities. Findings…

In determining arrangements for children, welfare remains the paramount consideration. The court should make a defined contact order only where it is satisfied…

In fact-finding proceedings, the court must assess competing possible explanations in parallel. It is impermissible to determine a preliminary harmful event on…

Where a pregnant patient lacks capacity and is detained under section 2 of the Mental Health Act, the Mental Capacity Act does not apply. The High Court may…

Where an adult lacks capacity to decide upon serious medical treatment, the court must determine best interests by assessing the clinical alternatives together…

In adoption and placement proceedings, adoption remains an order of last resort. The court must decide whether the child’s welfare makes adoption necessary…

In exceptionally serious and complex private law fact-finding proceedings, an unrepresented party facing allegations such as rape may require independent legal…

On an application for leave to apply for an adoption order under section 42(6) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, the court must consider the child’s…

A domicile of choice is acquired only through physical presence combined with an intention to reside permanently or indefinitely. A domicile of origin is more…

Parties to linked care and criminal proceedings must comply with family-court orders requiring a full response to threshold allegations or a narrative…

In a fact-finding hearing, the court must determine the parents’ involvement by applying the balance of probabilities to the evidence in the individual case.…

A local authority may obtain an order under section 34(4) of the Children Act permitting it not to arrange contact where contact is contrary to the child’s…

In disputes about a child’s relationship with a genetically related parent, the child’s welfare is the paramount consideration. Parental autonomy does not…

A first-instance family judge may vary or revoke an order only within the limits of the procedural power relied on. Reconsideration on the same material, or an…

A court dealing with contempt must sentence for the contempt, not for the underlying crime. Where the same conduct has already resulted in criminal conviction…

In care proceedings, the child’s welfare is paramount when deciding whether to adjourn for further assessment. An adjournment should be refused where continued…

A freezing order may be renewed or extended where a respondent has failed to comply with its disclosure requirements and there remains a substantial…

In determining whether shares were held on trust for an adult child, the court applied ordinary Chancery principles. A common intention constructive trust…

In Hague Convention proceedings, the court’s discretion after an exception to summary return is engaged is broad. Convention policy, international comity and…

Where parties agree to be bound by an arbitral award under the IFLA Scheme, their agreement is ordinarily the decisive factor in approving a financial remedy…

In public law children proceedings with a European dimension, jurisdiction ordinarily depends on the child’s habitual residence under Brussels II revised. Mere…

In financial-relief proceedings, materially deficient disclosure requires the court to consider adverse inferences, but those inferences must be properly drawn…

Adoption may be authorised where a child’s welfare requires a secure and permanent placement and the prospects within the natural family involve an…