Children

Anonymisation of judgments in family cases relating to children
In December 2018 the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, published Practice Guidance: Anonymisation and avoidance of the identification of children and the treatment of explicit descriptions of the sexual abuse of children in judgements intended for the public arena. The context for this article is the President’s current Transparency Review. As part of that review, the President’s call for evidence specifically asks for “Any observations on the Practice Guidance: Anonymisation Guidance and the President’s Guidance as to reporting in the Family courts.” Article, 21/05/2020, free
R v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Disclosure of Asylum Records) [2019] EWHC 3147 (Fam)
The father sought disclosure and inspection of documentation from the successful asylum claim of the mother, for use in family proceedings. The mother's asylum application had been based on claims regarding physical and sexual abuse by the father. The father had applied for summary return under the 1980 Hague Convention, and requested disclosure before a fact-finding hearing. MacDonald J accepted that there was a compelling public interest in ensuring that the confidentiality of the asylum process was protected, but that did not prevent a court ordering disclosure and inspection of such documents in proceedings under the Children Act 1989 in an appropriate case. The mother was directed to produce for the court the documentation from the asylum process which she contended should not be disclosed to the father, and the court would determine whether they should be. Article, 11/12/2019, free
Can the tort of deceit exist between married couples? Case Summary: FRB v DCA [2019] EWHC 2816 (Fam)
Cohen J recently gave judgment in FRB v DCA [2019] EWHC 2816 (Fam), a deeply unusual case concerning W’s application to strike out H’s claim for the tort of deceit relating to her so-called ‘paternity fraud’, which H had launched alongside financial remedy proceedings. The case – the latest in a long-running dispute between the parties - deals with an interesting point of law: whether the tort of deceit can exist between married couples. Article, 14/11/2019, free
SR v MA (Temporary Leave To Remove From the Jurisdiction) [2019] EWHC 435 (Fam)
The mother applied for permission to have the child come on holiday to Brazil, which was said to have a poor record of compliance with the Hague Convention 1980. Roberts J was persuaded that the potential benefits of spending time with the mother outweighed the potential risks of a wrongful retention, but mirror orders would need to be in place before travel. Article, 29/04/2019, free

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