High Court: Family Division judgments, 2024

In proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, satisfaction of the child-objections gateway gives the…

In determining a child’s best interests, the court must exercise its own independent and objective judgment. It must consider welfare in the widest sense…

In family fact-finding proceedings, the court’s task is to establish a narrative account of behaviour relevant to the child’s welfare. It must not determine…

Applications to disclose and publish material from shielded family proceedings require the court to conduct an ultimate balancing exercise between the specific…

Where legislation prescribes a time requirement but does not state the consequence of non-compliance, the court must determine Parliament’s intended…

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

In applications concerning life-sustaining treatment for a child, the court must make an independent and objective best-interests decision. The welfare…

Under the 1980 Hague Convention, removal or retention is wrongful only if it breaches custody rights in the state of the child’s habitual residence at the…

In fact-finding proceedings, the local authority bears the burden of proving each allegation on the balance of probabilities. The court must assess the…

In proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention, consent to removal under Article 13(a) is a fact-specific question assessed by reference to the parties’ words…

Under the 1980 Hague Convention, a child’s objection to return is a gateway issue. The court must decide whether the child objects to return to the country of…

Under Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention, allegations must establish a grave risk of harm or an intolerable situation on the circumstances expected…

Where a party seeks to relitigate issues already addressed in earlier proceedings, the court may strike out the claim as an abuse of process. The court must…

In an application under the 1980 Hague Convention, an Article 13(b) defence requires a sufficiently particularised and evidentially supported grave risk of…

Non-compliance with the statutory safeguards governing non-Convention intercountry adoption does not create an absolute bar to an adoption order. The court…

A fair hearing requires protection against actual unfairness and against an objectively justified risk or appearance of unfairness. In proceedings involving an…

A court may reconsider a judgment after handing it down where fairness and a material change of circumstances justify doing so, although the discretion is…

In an application for the summary return of children under the 1980 Hague Convention, the court must assess an Article 13(b) defence prospectively. It must…

In an application for the summary return of a child to a non-Hague country, the court must apply the child’s welfare as the paramount consideration. Summary…

Under the 1980 Convention, habitual residence is determined from all circumstances specific to the child. Parental intention is relevant but not determinative.…

In financial remedy proceedings, the court should usually separate computation of the assets from their distribution and pursue the fairest outcome having…

Disclosure of information from private family proceedings to a professional regulator requires an evaluative balancing exercise. The court must consider the…

The statutory requirement for written and signed consent under Schedule 3 to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990 is a strict requirement within the…

Contempt in the face of the court includes conduct creating a real risk of interference with, or prejudice to, the due administration of justice. The criminal…

Under Article 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention, the burden lies on the person opposing return to establish a grave risk of harm or intolerability. In summary…

The inherent jurisdiction cannot be used to determine that a person is detainable under the Mental Health Act 1983 where that would require the Family Division…

An adoption order may be set aside only in highly exceptional circumstances, particularly where there has been a fundamental procedural irregularity. The…

Recognition of a foreign adoption at common law requires the adoptive parent to have been domiciled in the foreign country, the adoption to have been legally…

In deciding whether life-sustaining treatment should be withdrawn from a non-Gillick competent child, the court must exercise its own independent and objective…

Children wrongfully retained abroad may remain habitually resident in England where their removal or retention has placed them in a state of limbo pending…

A charging order may be sought by a party to family proceedings to secure sums which the judgment debtor is ordered to pay directly to a third party, including…

A Hemain injunction is an interim measure designed to preserve a level playing field while competing courts determine jurisdiction or forum. The applicant need…

A parental order may be made where the statutory conditions in section 54 of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 are satisfied and the order meets…

The phrase “for the purpose of adoption” in section 83(1)(a) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 concerns the intention to obtain an adoption order through…

A child’s separate representation in concluded Hague Convention proceedings should be permitted only where it serves a genuine procedural purpose and the child…

Recognition at common law of a foreign adoption ordinarily requires satisfaction of the four conditions in In re Valentine’s Settlement: foreign domicile of…

Protective orders against the risk of female genital mutilation must be based on an individualised, current and evidence-based assessment of risk. The…

An adoption made abroad may be recognised at common law where the adoptive parent was domiciled in the foreign country, the adoption was lawful under that…

In an application for a parental order, the statutory conditions must be interpreted purposively and in light of the child’s welfare. A child may have her home…

On an application under Article 9(3) of the 1996 Hague Convention, acceptance of a request to transfer jurisdiction requires the court to decide whether…

In family contempt proceedings, imprisonment is not automatic, but may be appropriate where repeated and wilful breaches of child-return orders are grave and…

A suspended committal order may be activated only if its terms are sufficiently clear. It must identify the breaches found, the sentence imposed and the…

When deciding contact and parental responsibility applications, the court must apply the welfare checklist and assess the child’s welfare in the circumstances…

Wardship is not justified merely because a case involves an international element or allegations of spousal stranding. The inherent jurisdiction, and wardship…

In family fact-finding proceedings, allegations must be proved by the party making them on the balance of probabilities. Findings must arise from the evidence…

Under the 1980 Hague Convention, settlement is assessed holistically from the child’s perspective at the date proceedings are commenced. It has physical…

Under the Guardianship (Missing Persons) Act 2017, the High Court may appoint a guardian over a missing person’s property and financial affairs where the…

Under Article 13 of the Hague Convention, a child’s expression of distress about return does not necessarily amount to an objection. The court must evaluate…

Where a court is choosing between realistic child-arrangements options, it must weigh each option in the welfare balance and explain why the rejected option is…

On an appeal concerning financial remedy proceedings, the appeal court has a discretion as to costs and approaches that discretion on a clean sheet. The…

Under Art 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention, the party opposing return must establish a grave risk of physical or psychological harm, or an intolerable…

In an internal relocation case, the governing principle is the child’s welfare. The court must evaluate all realistic options holistically, including whether…

In a Hague Convention return application, habitual residence is a child-focused question of fact. The court must evaluate all relevant circumstances, including…

A Financial Dispute Resolution appointment is an integral part of financial remedy proceedings. Under FPR 9.15(4)(b), referral may be dispensed with only for…

Under Family Procedure Rules 2010 Part 37, confiscation of a contemnor’s assets is a sanction available only when the court is determining the appropriate…

Under the 1980 Hague Convention, habitual residence is determined by a child-focused factual inquiry into the child’s integration in a social and family…

The statutory consent requirements governing storage and use of gametes are strict and essential. Consent must be informed, recorded in writing and signed in…

Sentencing for contempt in family proceedings is discretionary. Imprisonment is not automatic, particularly for a first breach, and the court must consider the…

In committal proceedings, the applicant bears the burden of proving beyond reasonable doubt that the respondent knew the order, deliberately breached it, and…

Declarations permitting the withholding of life-sustaining treatment should be made only where they protect or enhance the child’s best interests. They must…

On an application under Article 9 of the 1996 Hague Convention, the court must assess whether the proposed receiving State is better placed to determine…

A court may make a supervision order under Part 4 of the Children Act 1989 only on the application of a local authority or authorised person, subject to the…

The High Court may exercise its inherent jurisdiction to authorise life-saving medical treatment for a 16- or 17-year-old with capacity who refuses it, where…

Permission to appeal a child-arrangements decision should be refused where the lower court has applied the framework in PD12J, assessed the risks arising from…

Under Article 3(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, rights of custody may be exercised even where the parent…

In deciding whether to authorise non-therapeutic circumcision of a child in care, the child’s welfare is paramount. Religious, cultural and parental views are…

Permission to appeal requires a real, realistic rather than fanciful, prospect of success, or another compelling reason to hear the appeal. An appellate court…

In determining future child arrangements, the court must apply the child’s welfare as the paramount consideration and make a proportionate, least…

An appeal concerning progression from supervised to unsupervised child contact must be determined fairly where the evidence of change and future risk is…

Sentencing for contempt of court must mark the court’s disapproval and promote future compliance. The penalty must remain proportionate to the seriousness of…

In proceedings concerning children, the general practice is to make no order for costs. A departure requires good reason. The court must assess the parties’…

In a fact-finding hearing concerning alleged inflicted injuries, the local authority bears the burden of proving the relevant facts on the balance of…

Where a child under 16 lacks Gillick competence, parental consent may authorise medical treatment and an accompanying deprivation of liberty when the treating…

Committal proceedings may proceed in a defendant’s absence where the court is satisfied that the defendant has been properly served, has had sufficient notice…

Habitual residence under the 1980 Hague Convention is a child-focused question of fact. The court must evaluate the child’s integration into the relevant…

In a non-Convention child abduction case, summary return is governed by the child’s welfare, which remains paramount. Return is not automatic merely because a…

Where findings disclose serious domestic abuse, a court deciding contact must engage with the abuse, its effect on the child and the protective safeguards…

Where fertility treatment is provided by a licensed clinic, statutory legal parenthood may be established by written and signed consent contained in…

The High Court may use its inherent jurisdiction to authorise deprivation of a child’s liberty in an unregistered placement where the statutory scheme does not…

The High Court may use its inherent jurisdiction to authorise restrictions amounting to a deprivation of liberty for a child under 16 placed in an unregistered…

A Dispute Resolution Appointment may resolve or narrow issues, but it should not result in final child arrangements orders where a party continues to contest…

On an appeal concerning a child’s transfer of care, the appellate court must not substitute its own discretion for that of the trial judge. The question is…

In non-contentious probate proceedings, the court has a wide discretion to decide by whom and to what extent costs should be paid. A solicitor who drafted or…

In committal proceedings, the court must keep an open mind about alleged breaches that have not been determined. Where the parties reach a comprehensive…

On an appeal in a child arrangements case, the appellate court must ask whether the decision was wrong or unjust because of a serious procedural irregularity.…

In determining children’s welfare under the inherent jurisdiction, the court should conduct a full welfare enquiry. The first six matters in the welfare…

An adult may seek a declaration of parentage where the alleged parent has died. The absence of living persons whose interests may be affected does not…

Under the 1980 Convention, a parent may continue to exercise rights of custody while temporarily incapacitated and unable to provide day-to-day care.…

A step-parent’s application for parental responsibility is determined under the child-welfare paramountcy principle. The factors identified in Re H (Parental…

In proceedings concerning the alleged existence of children, the person asserting that a child exists bears the burden of proving that fact on the balance of…

In private law children proceedings, allegations of domestic abuse do not automatically require a fact-finding hearing. The court must identify the precise…

Where a child or young person at risk of forced marriage is outside the jurisdiction, the court must adopt a case-specific, multi-agency approach. Existing…

The inherent jurisdiction to protect a vulnerable adult is not unbounded. Where protective measures are unlikely to alter the adult’s situation, continuing…

In deciding whether a putative father and extended family should be notified or assessed in an adoption case involving a concealed birth, the court must…

In an appeal concerning relocation of children abroad, the appellate court must decide whether the first-instance decision was wrong, rather than exercise its…

Habitual residence under the 1980 Hague Convention is a child-focused question of fact and degree. A child may lose habitual residence in one state and acquire…

In a family fact-finding hearing, allegations must be proved on the balance of probabilities. The seriousness of an allegation or its consequences does not…

Under Article 13 of the 1980 Hague Convention, the child-objections exception involves a gateway stage and, only if that gateway is crossed, a discretionary…

In Hague Convention summary-return proceedings, the court must determine whether the child was habitually resident in the requesting State and whether removal…

In a fact-finding exercise concerning allegations of domestic abuse and the removal of a child, the court must assess the whole evidential canvas. Witness…

Where children have been led to believe that serious allegations found to be false are true, leaving that narrative unchallenged may cause significant…

Where domestic abuse is admitted, the welfare analysis must assess its direct and continuing impact on the parent with whom the children live, as well as its…

When deciding whether a child should move from a settled placement with a relative to live with a parent, the court must determine welfare by applying the…

For the purposes of the Hague Convention, a retention becomes wrongful when an agreed temporary period ends without agreement to extend it. The left-behind…

In an appeal concerning child arrangements, a court assessing supervised contact must evaluate both the risk of emotional harm from exposure to parental…

In an application concerning confidentiality in adoption proceedings, the court must identify and respectfully scrutinise the relevant facts, obtain…

The public-policy exception in Article 23(2)(d) of the 1996 Hague Convention is a very narrow exception. Recognition may be refused only in exceptional…

A child’s right to a relationship with both parents is a right of the child, not a duty imposed on the child. Direct contact should not be forced where an…

Appeals against case-management decisions are permitted only in limited circumstances, including material error of principle, failure to take relevant matters…

Summary removal of children from one parent to another is an exceptional measure. It ordinarily requires a proper opportunity to prepare and address the…

When determining contact between children and an imprisoned parent, the court must balance the children’s relationship with that parent and their wishes and…

An appellate court should respect the trial judge’s advantage in seeing witnesses and should intervene only where the decision falls outside the reasonable…

In a summary-return application under the 1980 Hague Convention, consent and acquiescence require clear evidence. Consent is active, advance and communicated…

In a 1980 Hague Convention return application, the court must determine the Convention issues on their own merits and must not conduct a welfare comparison…

A nationality-based inherent jurisdiction may exist in relation to a British child abroad, even where the child is neither present nor habitually resident in…

When a competent child in care seeks leave to change their forename and surname, the court’s paramount consideration is the child’s best interests. The court…

A local authority holding a care order may consent to restrictions amounting to a deprivation of a child’s liberty where the decision falls within its…

In care proceedings, serious findings of sexual, physical and coercive abuse may justify excluding a parent from the family home where the resulting risk to a…

Where a bankruptcy order precedes a financial remedies order, the bankrupt’s assets vest in the trustee in bankruptcy. The family court may determine financial…

A child arrangements order must be tailored to the child’s welfare. The court may make a detailed, flexible or relatively open order, but it must consider the…

On an appeal under Gender Recognition Act 2004, a Gender Recognition Panel must assess the whole body of relevant evidence when deciding whether an applicant…

In a fact-finding hearing within care proceedings, the court must determine disputed events on the balance of probabilities by considering the wide canvas of…

In an application for the return of children to a non-Convention country, the court must apply the welfare principle. Summary return is discretionary and is…

A Hadkinson order may be made in Children Act proceedings, but only exceptionally and where six requirements are satisfied. In addition to contempt, deliberate…

Where a child is habitually resident outside the United Kingdom, the inherent protective jurisdiction should be exercised only where the circumstances are…

Jurisdiction to determine protective or welfare applications concerning children is assessed by reference to habitual residence at the date of the application.…

Where properly conducted brain-stem testing establishes irreversible cessation of brain-stem function, the court may declare that the person has died and…

A person may satisfy the statutory definition of mental disorder and be detainable under the Mental Health Act 1983 even where their presentation is attributed…

In an application for summary return under the 1980 Hague Convention, an Article 13(b) defence requires evidence establishing a grave risk of harm or an…

Applications to authorise a vulnerable person’s deprivation of liberty in a police station under the inherent jurisdiction or Mental Capacity Act 2005 should…

Changing a child’s registered surname is an important decision requiring a fair process. Where the issue is raised informally, the judge must ensure that each…

The court may order funding for legal representation in both Children Act 1989 Schedule 1 and section 8 proceedings where this is necessary to secure…

A marriage void from its inception does not require a decree of nullity to establish its status. The inability to obtain such a decree does not engage Articles…

In determining child arrangements, the wishes and feelings of children aged 10 and 11 may carry significant weight, particularly where they are clear…

A child subject to a care order, including a care order at home, should be allowed ordinary childhood and family experiences unless doing so creates an…

In children proceedings, the general practice remains that there is no order for costs. The usual gateway for departing from that practice is reprehensible…

Under the Hague Convention 1980, a child’s objection to return is a factual gateway. The court must then exercise a broad discretion, taking account of the…

An entry in the marriage register or a certified marriage certificate is prima facie, but not conclusive, evidence of the statutory facts recorded. The court…

Where one intended parent dies after a parental-order application has been made, the court may interpret the statutory requirements purposively so that the…

In an application for summary return of children to a non-Hague Convention country, the decisive consideration is the welfare of each child. Return is not…

In an application by grandparents for contact, the child’s welfare is paramount. There is no presumption that a grandparent who has permission to apply is…

Under the 1996 Hague Convention, jurisdiction to make protective measures concerning a child ordinarily depends on the child’s habitual residence. Habitual…

Judges managing family proceedings may express robust preliminary views, narrow issues and encourage agreement. Those functions do not, without more, establish…

A person aged 16 or over who has capacity may consent to medical treatment without parental agreement. The court retains an inherent welfare jurisdiction to…

In Hague Convention proceedings, a defence of consent requires cogent evidence that the left-behind parent clearly and unequivocally consented to the child’s…

Applications to extend time for appealing a case management order should be determined by applying the established approach to procedural default, including…

In private law children proceedings, costs orders remain exceptional, including on appeal. The court retains a discretion to make such order as is just, having…

In a novel and sensitive area, the court should develop the common law incrementally and decide only issues necessary to resolve a live dispute. It should…

Under Schedule 1 of the Domicile and Matrimonial Proceedings Act (1973), the court may stay English divorce proceedings in favour of proceedings abroad where…

A passport order may be imposed or continued within proceedings concerning a Forced Marriage Protection Order where it is necessary and proportionate to reduce…

In Hague Convention proceedings, the requested court must determine whether the applicant had rights of custody under the law of the state of habitual…

In a non-Convention child-abduction case, the court’s paramount consideration is the welfare of each child. The Hague Convention principles must not be applied…

Permission to bring committal proceedings for alleged contempt under Administration of Justice Act 1960, s 12 requires a strong prima facie case. The court…

An appellate court may intervene where a financial remedy decision is legally erroneous, unsupported by the evidence, procedurally unjust, or outside the range…

The inherent jurisdiction cannot be used to revoke a lawfully made adoption order solely because the adoption has broken down or revocation would promote the…

On an appeal from a financial-remedy order, the appellate court must review the judgment as a whole and should not substitute its own assessment of fact or…

When deciding whether life-sustaining treatment should continue, the court must determine whether giving the treatment is in the child’s best interests. Best…

In a fact-finding case involving suspected fabricated or induced illness, the court must distinguish genuine illness from exaggerated, fabricated or…

The court may work out and enforce an earlier financial remedy order while it remains executory. It may award compensation for losses caused by deliberate…

Intermediaries in family proceedings are an exceptional participation measure. The court must decide whether an intermediary is necessary to secure fair…

In a fact-finding hearing concerning alleged domestic abuse, the court must apply the civil standard of proof. The seriousness of an allegation does not alter…

In an application for summary return under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 and the 1980 Hague Convention, Article 13(b) requires a child-specific and…

An appellate court must independently consider whether a fact-finding hearing is necessary where allegations of domestic abuse or coercive and controlling…

In Hague Convention 1980 proceedings, the Article 13(b) inquiry focuses on the child’s position on return, rather than the conduct which created the risk.…

Before reaching adulthood, a capacitous young person’s refusal of medical treatment may be overridden under the court’s inherent jurisdiction. The governing…

In children proceedings, a potential placement with a natural family member is not subject to an automatic presumption or right. The court must determine the…

In determining arrangements for a child, the court must apply the welfare checklist and assess the competing consequences of each realistic option. The child’s…

When a judgment creditor seeks enforcement against property relevant to financial remedy proceedings, the court must consider all the circumstances and balance…

Mortgage capacity is a financial resource for the purposes of Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989. A settlement of property for a child may therefore be funded…

A final order of divorce is a declaratory judgment conclusively determining marital status. Where it is made by a court with competent jurisdiction and in…

An order for payment of legal services costs may be made only where the applicant cannot reasonably obtain appropriate legal services without it. The applicant…

In child-arrangements proceedings involving alleged domestic abuse and an ongoing criminal investigation, the Family Court must itself determine whether…

In private-law children proceedings, the child’s welfare remains the paramount consideration. An international relocation application must be determined…

In determining child arrangements, the court must decide disputed allegations on the balance of probabilities, using evidence and proper inferences rather than…

Expert evidence in children proceedings is admissible only where it is necessary to assist the court to resolve the proceedings justly. Necessity requires more…

Police bail conditions restricting contact with children must be necessary for a statutory bail purpose. Where the sole concern is the risk of an offence…

The court may make a Children Act 1989 section 91(14) order where further applications would risk harm to a child or another individual, or where repeated and…

For the purposes of establishing legal parenthood under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008, the court may consider the evidence as a whole.…

In family proceedings, the court has a broad discretion to make such costs order as is just. The ordinary rule that the unsuccessful party pays does not apply…

Adoption changes a child’s legal status but does not alter the historical facts of the child’s conception, pregnancy or birth. Accordingly, an overseas…

In a child-abduction case, an application for return may properly be made in the child’s home country where the applicant lacks access to free legal assistance…

The inherent jurisdiction may protect a vulnerable adult who retains decision-making capacity where external influence, coercion or abuse substantially affects…

In financial remedy proceedings, the general rule is that the court will not order one party to pay the other’s costs. That rule does not prevent a costs order…

Permission is required to withdraw applications in proceedings under the 1980 and 1996 Hague Conventions where FPR r 29.4 applies. For a withdrawal application…

In family fact-finding proceedings, the party relying on a disputed fact must prove it on the balance of probabilities. The court is not required to search for…

A fertility clinic may contact a gamete donor to request a DNA sample where the donor’s prior refusal to receive health information does not clearly cover the…

Fact-finding hearings in private-law children proceedings are not free-standing litigation. They should identify only findings relevant to the child’s safety…

A Care Order may be necessary and proportionate for a child subject to a Deprivation of Liberty Order even where the local authority’s care plan could…

A summary-return application under the inherent jurisdiction is governed exclusively by the child’s welfare. Return to the child’s former home country is not…

Family courts should make a serious and sustained effort to resolve disputes through suitable non-court dispute resolution. The court must consider its…

Article 5 requires a fact-specific assessment of whether a person is under constant supervision and control and is not free to leave. The inability to leave…

Under Art 13(b) of the 1980 Hague Convention, the person opposing return must establish a grave risk that return would expose the child to physical or…

In a fact-finding hearing, a court should assess disputed recollection with caution. Documentary evidence, together with known or probable facts, may provide a…

In proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention, the court must assess Article 13(b) prospectively. It should identify the potential grave risk on reasonable…

Appellate interference with a first-instance judge’s discretionary assessment of a debtor’s ability to pay should be cautious, particularly where the judge has…

In determining a child’s welfare, nationality, cultural heritage, religious beliefs, geographical connections and familial ties may all be relevant, but none…

On an application to vary child maintenance, the original order normally provides the starting point. The applicant must establish a material change in…

The 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention is the first port of call for determining jurisdiction, but it does not necessarily extinguish residual domestic…

In determining a child’s living arrangements and contact, the child’s welfare is paramount. The court must apply the welfare checklist and presume that…

In Hague Convention proceedings, settlement is assessed at the date proceedings are commenced and from the child’s perspective. A short period in the requested…

Expert psychological evidence in care proceedings may be permitted only where it is necessary to assist the court to resolve the proceedings. Necessity means…

In a private-law fact-finding hearing, the party making an allegation bears the burden of proving it on the balance of probabilities. The court must assess the…

The inherent jurisdiction and wardship protect children according to their best interests, but their flexibility requires cautious and proportionate use.…

On an application for a declaration of parentage, the ordinary civil standard applies. The court must be satisfied that the evidence reliably establishes the…

A breach of the three-month minimum notice period in section 44(3) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 does not necessarily prevent an adoption order. The…

When deciding whether to remove a child living at home under a care order, the court must balance the risks of remaining with the parents against the risks and…

In unusual child-removal cases, the court may adjourn rather than determine immediately the date or mechanism of a child’s return where the welfare evidence is…

A nuptial agreement is not automatically binding, but the court must give substantial weight to an agreement freely entered into by parties who understood its…

Habitual residence under the Hague Convention 1980 is a child-focused factual question. The court must undertake a global evaluation of the child’s…

In deciding whether life-sustaining treatment should be withdrawn from a child, the court must determine the child’s best interests independently and…

A local authority’s public law involvement does not by itself confer a sufficient personal interest to pursue a declaration of parentage. A personal interest…

Notification of a putative father and other relatives in public law proceedings is ordinarily appropriate, but confidentiality may be maintained in an…

Permission is required before contempt proceedings based on an allegedly false statement can proceed. The applicant must show a strong prima facie case that…

In fact-finding proceedings concerning alleged domestic abuse, the court must analyse the parties’ behaviour during the relevant events, considered in the…

In determining an application for contact involving travel to a country affected by armed conflict, the child’s welfare remains the paramount consideration.…

Committal to prison in family proceedings is justified only for a clear and consequential breach of a court order. Contempt must be proved to the criminal…

Where a child is removed from England and Wales to a non-Contracting State, jurisdiction under the 1996 Hague Convention depends on the child’s habitual…

The Court of Protection may determine issues summarily at a case-management hearing, including on its own initiative, but the power requires restraint where…

When exercising the inherent jurisdiction in relation to a minor aged 16 or 17 who wishes to delay necessary medical treatment, the court must establish the…

In family proceedings, fairness requires each party to know the case and evidence relied on against them and to have a proper opportunity to answer it. This…

Applications for a stay of divorce or financial remedy proceedings do not fall within the no-order costs regime for financial remedy proceedings. The court…

In determining whether a Special Guardianship Order was in a child’s welfare interests, the court was required to treat the child’s welfare as paramount.…

In proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention, the Article 13(b) defence requires a forward-looking assessment of the grave risk to the particular child on…

In a non-Convention child-return application, the child’s welfare remains the paramount consideration. Summary return is not automatic, but the court may order…

Permission to bring private committal proceedings for false statements should be granted only with great caution. The applicant must show a strong prima facie…

Habitual residence is a factual question requiring a global assessment of whether the child has achieved a sufficient degree of integration in a social and…

Where parents and a children’s guardian agree that arrangements for a child’s contact should develop at the child’s pace, the court must engage with the…

The High Court may use its inherent jurisdiction to authorise the deprivation of a looked-after child’s liberty in a registered children’s home where approved…

The presumption that parental involvement furthers a child’s welfare is fact-sensitive. It may be displaced, or limited in degree, where domestic abuse and its…

In Hague Convention proceedings, the Article 13(b) exception requires a two-stage assessment. The court must first assess the grave risk to the child on the…

In deciding whether to publish a family judgment identifying parties, the court must apply the principle of open justice and balance the competing rights under…

In a Hague Convention child-abduction application issued after more than one year, settlement is assessed by reference to the children’s physical, emotional…

Authorisation of a deprivation of liberty requires current, sufficient evidence demonstrating that the proposed restrictions are necessary, proportionate and…

Where a child has no realistic prospect of meaningful improvement and is experiencing profound suffering, withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment may be…

Apparent bias requires a structured assessment. The court must identify all circumstances bearing on the allegation and then ask whether a fair-minded and…

The inherent jurisdiction cannot be used to require a child to remain accommodated where the child does not consent to future accommodation. Previous voluntary…

In private-law children proceedings, a separate fact-finding hearing is required only where it is relevant, necessary and proportionate to determining the…

Intermediaries in family proceedings should be appointed only where necessary to secure effective participation. A whole-hearing appointment requires…

In proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention, the parent opposing return bears the civil burden of establishing the Article 13(b) defence. The court should…

When deciding whether life-sustaining treatment may lawfully be withheld from a child, the court must determine whether providing the treatment is in the…

Under section 9(6) of the Children Act 1989, a section 8 order may continue after a child’s sixteenth birthday only where the circumstances are exceptional.…

Applications to set aside financial remedy orders under FPR 9.9A are subject to the court’s full case-management powers. The court may strike out or summarily…

Article 7 of the 1996 Convention does not create a separate jurisdiction. It retains the jurisdiction based on habitual residence under Article 5 after…