High Court: Family Division judgments, 2022

An appeal court considering an interim stay before determining permission to appeal should not pre-empt the permission decision by assessing whether the appeal…

Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention is a narrowly confined exception. The court must assess the future situation on return and focus on the risk to the…

In proceedings seeking the summary return of a child under the inherent jurisdiction, the child’s welfare remains paramount. The court may order return without…

Under Article 12 of the Hague Convention 1980, settlement is assessed holistically from the child’s perspective at the date proceedings are commenced.…

Under Article 5 of the 1996 Hague Convention on the Protection of Children, habitual residence and jurisdiction are determined when the court is seised, rather…

In health and welfare proceedings, the usual rule is that costs are not awarded. The court nevertheless has a wide discretion to depart from that rule after…

Successive terms of imprisonment for continuing contempt are legally permissible and are not subject to an aggregate cap derived from the maximum sentence for…

A court may authorise a child’s deprivation of liberty only where it is necessary, proportionate and in the child’s best interests. A hospital may lawfully…

In a non-Convention child-return case, summary return is not automatic. The court must determine whether return is in the individual child’s best interests…

In deciding whether life-sustaining treatment should continue for a person who lacks capacity, the court must determine the patient’s best interests under the…

Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention imposes a high threshold. The question is whether return would expose the child to a grave risk of physical or…

A fact-finding hearing in public law proceedings should be held only where it is necessary and proportionate to determining the child’s welfare and the orders…

There is no general right to cross-examine in family proceedings. Under the Family Procedure Rules, the court may limit cross-examination and, where fair and…

Committal proceedings may proceed in the respondent’s absence where the respondent has been properly served, had sufficient time to prepare, deliberately chose…

The statutory presumption that a civil partner consented to fertility treatment is not displaced by general awareness or acquiescence, but requires a…

In family fact-finding, the court must determine what the parties did and how their relationship operated, rather than whether conduct satisfies criminal…

In an international Convention adoption, the child’s welfare remains paramount. The court must consider the statutory welfare checklist, the full range of…

In a step-parent adoption, the child’s lifelong welfare remains paramount and parental consent may be dispensed with only where welfare requires it. The…

A local authority may seek authorisation under the inherent jurisdiction for restrictions amounting to a deprivation of liberty where a disabled child aged 16…

In care proceedings, allegations of parental alienation are ultimately questions of fact rather than a distinct legal doctrine. The court must determine…

Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 permits a court to order capital provision for a child’s housing. That jurisdiction is not excluded merely because the…

Where reporting restrictions are sought to protect adult professionals from the effects of identification, the application should ordinarily be made to the…

Recognition of a foreign adoption at common law requires consideration of whether the order was lawfully obtained, whether the foreign legal relationship…

In a financial remedy appeal, a director’s loan owed to a company must be included consistently in valuing the company interest and the shareholder’s personal…

Permission is required before care proceedings may be withdrawn. Where the local authority accepts that it cannot satisfy the threshold criteria under the…

In an application under the 1980 Hague Convention, the court must determine habitual residence by examining the child’s integration in the relevant social and…

Habitual residence under the 1980 Hague Convention is a question of fact determined by a child-focused global assessment of the circumstances of the individual…

A foreign marriage may sustain divorce proceedings where it is valid under the law of the place where it was celebrated or otherwise validly given effect. That…

In committal proceedings for wilful non-compliance with court orders concerning the return of children, the court has a wide sentencing discretion. A…

In determining whether a child’s deprivation of liberty should continue, the court must identify the objective confinement, absence of valid consent and State…

A court-appointed reporter must conduct the task directed by the court and must take account of the court’s findings and orders. A welfare assessment prepared…

Age is an objective and jurisdictional fact for the court to determine on the balance of probabilities. Age assessment is an inquisitorial, holistic exercise.…

In an application for summary return under the 1980 Hague Convention, an Article 13(b) defence requires a structured, forward-looking assessment. The court…

In end-of-life decisions concerning a child, invasive treatment must be justified by a realistic prospect of benefit to the child. Where treatment would impose…

The inherent jurisdiction may authorise a child’s deprivation of liberty in a hospital or unregistered placement only where the restrictions are necessary…

Insulting or repeatedly disruptive abuse directed at a judge may constitute contempt in the face of the court. The court must prove the conduct beyond…

Parents may, in the proper exercise of parental responsibility, consent to care arrangements which would otherwise amount to a deprivation of liberty for a…

In deciding whether life-sustaining treatment should continue for a child who lacks capacity, the court must determine the child’s best interests from the…

Under Family Procedure Rules 2010, r 28.3, the court may order costs where a party’s litigation conduct is unreasonable. The jurisdiction is engaged where a…

A return order made under Article 11(6)–(8) of the Brussels II Regulation may be set aside by the court of origin where there has been a significant subsequent…

Habitual residence is a factual assessment of a child’s integration into a social and family environment. Where two states compete, the court should compare…

A child may remain accommodated under Children Act 1989, section 20, for a prolonged period where the statutory conditions are satisfied; there is no general…

Part III relief after an overseas divorce depends on a careful application of the statutory factors, including the parties’ connections, provision available…

In a non-Convention child-return application, the court’s paramount consideration is the welfare of the individual child. There is no strong presumption that a…

Permission to appeal may be granted where an appeal has a realistic, rather than fanciful, prospect of success. An appeal is ordinarily a review, and an…

In determining a child’s best interests, the court must assess welfare in the widest sense, including medical, psychological, social, cultural and religious…

In determining a child’s best interests, the court must consider welfare in the widest sense, including medical, social and psychological factors, the burdens…

For a child under 16 who lacks Gillick competence, a parent or person exercising parental responsibility may consent to a deprivation of liberty within the…

Habitual residence is determined from the child’s degree of stability and integration in a social and family environment. The assessment is child-centred and…

Where a child urgently requires secure accommodation but no suitable placement is available, the local authority remains responsible for using its best…

A local authority may arrange accommodation for a looked-after child subject to a final care order without further court involvement, provided that the…

Applications to withhold asylum documents in family proceedings are governed by relevance, proportionality and strict necessity. Relevant material should…

In care proceedings, the court should confine fact-finding and threshold allegations to matters necessary to determine the children’s future welfare and the…

In parental-alienation cases, the court must act with exceptional diligence and take effective measures directed to the child’s medium- and long-term welfare.…

In determining whether to vary an order governing the withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, the court must reconsider the patient’s best interests on the…

The Court of Protection may grant injunctions to support and enforce its best-interests decisions and orders. The High Court’s inherent jurisdiction may…

In a Hague Convention return application, Article 13(b) requires a forward-looking assessment of the child’s likely situation on return. The court must…

An appeal in private-law children proceedings may succeed where the lower court’s process was procedurally irregular and the resulting decision unjust. Where…

Habitual residence is determined by the child’s actual integration in a social and family environment. Stability, rather than permanence, is required. The…

In a summary return application to a non-Hague Convention country, the child’s welfare remains the paramount consideration. Return is discretionary and is not…

Under Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention, the person opposing return bears the burden of proving a grave risk that return would expose the child to…

The jurisdictional scheme in Chapter II of the 1996 Hague Convention governs care proceedings under Part IV of the Children Act 1989 where the child is in…

On a judgment summons, the applicant bears the burden of proving to the criminal standard both that the debtor had the means to pay and that the debtor refused…

Under Article 13 of the 1996 Hague Convention, lis pendens applies only while proceedings in the other Contracting State are actively under consideration. A…

Under the 1980 Hague Convention, a child habitually resident in one Contracting State may, in an appropriate case, be ordered to return to another Contracting…

In fact-finding proceedings concerning suspected abusive head trauma, the local authority bears the burden of proving causation on the balance of…

In family fact-finding proceedings, the court should identify and determine the overarching issues relevant to the child’s welfare, rather than attempt to…

In domestic-abuse fact-finding proceedings, the court should identify and determine only allegations that are relevant, necessary and proportionate to the…

A child may be a looked after child under section 20 of the Children Act 1989 even where the local authority has failed to complete the usual formalities. The…

Where a child’s neurological condition is catastrophic but cardiac arrest is not imminent and resuscitation may have a meaningful objective, it may remain in…

For a removal to be wrongful under Art 3 of the 1980 Hague Convention, the left-behind parent must have rights under the law of the requesting State and those…

For the Hague Convention 1980 to treat a court as holding rights of custody, the court must have before it an application for an order concerning custody and…

In applications under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989, the court must make proper financial provision for the child by applying the statutory framework and…

The court’s inherent jurisdiction cannot be used by a local authority to authorise a placement where an available statutory route governs the issue. Under…

Contempt proceedings require strict compliance with procedural safeguards because of their quasi-criminal character. Personal service of the original order and…

In an application under the inherent jurisdiction for a child’s summary return to a foreign country, the child’s welfare remains paramount. The court may order…

Jurisdiction under Family Law Act 1986, Part I, depends on the statutory circumstances existing on the relevant date. A general oral request during a hearing…

The court has jurisdiction in care proceedings to declare a child’s age. The assessment must consider the whole evidential canvas, including history, physical…

Serious medical treatment for a child in local-authority care should not ordinarily be authorised solely through the local authority’s parental responsibility…

Under the 1980 Hague Convention, inchoate rights of custody may arise where a person has assumed sustained primary care of children in circumstances where…

Consent under the statutory scheme must ordinarily be written and signed. The requirement must, however, be considered with the obligation to provide proper…

In care proceedings under Part IV of the Children Act 1989, a foreign criminal conviction may be admitted as evidence of the underlying facts where the facts…

In Hague Convention proceedings for wrongful retention, the court must determine the retention date, the child’s habitual residence immediately beforehand and…

When authorising a deprivation of a child’s liberty under the inherent jurisdiction, the court must first determine whether the proposed arrangements engage…

In care proceedings, findings of non-accidental injury and failure to protect must be based on the totality of the evidence and the balance of probabilities.…

Brain stem death is the legal criterion for death in the United Kingdom. Where the approved brain stem testing procedure cannot be completed because of the…

Existing court orders remain binding unless set aside or successfully appealed. A party’s right to freedom of expression, including criticism of judges and the…

Applications under the inherent jurisdiction for declarations authorising a child’s deprivation of liberty must be issued promptly where the child is subject…

In summary return proceedings under the Hague Convention 1980, consent under Article 13(a) must be clear and unequivocal, assessed on the balance of…

Committal proceedings require allegations of contempt to be pleaded with accuracy and in compliance with procedural directions, particularly where the…

In adoption and placement proceedings, adoption may be authorised only where the child’s welfare throughout life requires it and nothing else will do. The…

In determining child arrangements, the child’s welfare remains the paramount consideration. Where parental and child rights under Article 8 are in tension, the…

In a summary-return application under the 1980 Hague Convention, habitual residence is determined from the child’s factual circumstances as a whole. Relevant…

In an application concerning medical treatment for a child, the court must determine best interests from the child’s perspective and in the widest sense. It…

Where proceedings in different countries concern the same maintenance obligation, a mandatory stay may be required under Article 12 of the European Maintenance…

In summary return proceedings under the Hague Convention 1980, habitual residence is a child-focused question of fact. The court must assess the child’s degree…

Under the 1996 Convention, habitual residence ordinarily determines primary jurisdiction in child-protection proceedings. The court must conduct a…

A child’s habitual residence is determined by a fact-sensitive assessment centred on the child’s integration in the social and family environment, parental…

Where a child is profoundly brain-injured and clinicians seek formal brain-stem-death testing, the court must determine whether the proposed testing is lawful…

Consent to international travel does not amount to consent to permanent removal where the surrounding documents and circumstances contemplate a temporary trip…

In a Children Act 1989 Schedule 1 application, childcare provision must be assessed consistently with the parties’ agreed financial presentation. A court…

A return application for children taken to a non-contracting state may proceed under the inherent jurisdiction where it seeks substantive care, bringing it…

The High Court may set aside its own return order where there has been a fundamental change of circumstances undermining the order’s foundation. The threshold…

An earlier family fact-finding judgment may be reopened where the application has genuine legal significance and there are solid grounds for believing that the…

In applications concerning publication of information from private family proceedings, Articles 8 and 10 must be balanced through an intense focus on the…

In determining arrangements for a child, the court’s paramount consideration is the child’s welfare. A parent’s repeated pressure on a child to support that…

In private law children proceedings, intimate photographs and videos should be admitted only where their relevance and probative value justify their use. The…

On an application for permission to pursue financial relief after an overseas divorce, the statutory threshold is whether there is a substantial ground…

In domestic-abuse fact-finding, allegations must be assessed on the balance of probabilities by reference to the totality and context of the evidence.…

On an application under the 1980 Hague Convention, habitual residence is assessed at the date of the alleged wrongful retention. It depends on the child’s…

Without prejudice privilege is a joint privilege belonging to the parties. Its accidental inclusion in a court bundle does not, without more, establish waiver…

A parent with parental responsibility is ordinarily entitled to participate in public law proceedings concerning their child. Exclusion, removal as a party or…

Under the 1980 Hague Convention, a return order is not required where the opposing party establishes a grave risk that return would expose the child to…

An adjournment of family proceedings should not be granted merely because related criminal proceedings have been postponed. The court must balance the need for…

An order under the inherent jurisdiction authorising a child’s deprivation of liberty requires both an engagement of Article 5 of the European Convention on…

In Hague Convention proceedings, a wrongful removal should ordinarily result in the child’s prompt return unless an Article 13(b) defence is established. The…

Death may be diagnosed where there is an irreversible loss of the capacity for consciousness together with an irreversible loss of the capacity to breathe.…

In fact-finding proceedings, allegations must be proved by the party making them on the balance of probabilities. Findings must be based on evidence and proper…

Habitual residence is determined by a child-focused factual inquiry into the child’s integration in a social and family environment. Parental intention is…

Under the inherent jurisdiction, wrongful retention does not create an automatic obligation to return a child. The court must decide whether summary return is…

In proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention, consent to a child’s removal must be proved by the removing parent to the civil standard. It must be clear…

In a family fact-finding hearing, the local authority bears the burden of proving allegations on the balance of probabilities. Findings must rest on evidence…

There is no presumption against children giving evidence in family proceedings. The court must conduct a bespoke balancing exercise between the forensic…

In fact-finding proceedings concerning suspected non-accidental injury to a child, the court must assess all the evidence in the round on the balance of…

A married father’s parental responsibility cannot be rescinded under the Children Act 1989. However, the court may impose comprehensive prohibited steps…

Article 13(b) of the Hague Convention 1980 is a narrowly framed defence with a high threshold. The court must assess the future situation on return, focusing…

The parens patriae jurisdiction may protect a British child who is habitually resident and present abroad, but it must be exercised with great caution or…

Article 13(b) of the Hague Convention 1980 is an exception to the general duty to return a wrongfully removed or retained child promptly to the State of…

On reopening financial remedy proceedings after non-disclosure, the court has a flexible discretion. It need not automatically conduct the entire exercise…

In Hague Convention proceedings, consent to a child’s removal must be clearly and unequivocally established on the facts. Consent obtained through material…

Restrictions on reporting the identities of criminal defendants or a deceased child require an intense and fact-specific balancing of Articles 8 and 10 rights.…

Special Advocates may be appointed in family proceedings where sensitive evidence is withheld from a respondent and the respondent’s effective participation…

Third-party disclosure in public law children proceedings must be necessary to dispose fairly of the proceedings or to save costs. An order must identify the…

The 1996 Hague Convention may provide jurisdiction for public law and inherent-jurisdiction protective measures even where the child is habitually resident in…

When determining allegations of domestic abuse, the family court should assess the evidence holistically. Incidents should be considered in clusters reflecting…

In an application under the 1980 Hague Convention, rights of custody must first be identified under the law of the children’s habitual residence and then…