Case Summaries

Successful application for costs in Court of Protection proceedings as to whether a hospital at which a patient was due to give birth should be permitted to perform a caesarean section if it were established that the patient acked capacity to consent to medical treatment.

Successful appeal concerning funding of an expert report in private children law proceedings. The LSC refused to fund the whole costs of an expert’s report notwithstanding that the judge at first instance had ordered that the costs be funded by the child (who was publicly funded) and had certified that it was a reasonable and necessary disbursement under the terms of her public funding certificate. Held that the cost of the report be funded by the child, the court considering it to be a reasonable and necessary disbursement to be incurred under the terms of her public funding certificate.

Appeal by local authority against decision to give a parent a ‘last chance’ under a supervision order. Appeal dismissed. Comment on role of agency decision makers.

Application, by consent, for a declaration of marital status following a divorce under the law of the Russian Federation. Held that, although the divorce was valid under Russian law, because it was obtained in the British Isles it was not a valid divorce in the jurisdiction of England & Wales.

Appeal against (a) a stay of proceedings pursuant to Article 19 of Brussels II Revised on the grounds that the court remained seised as a result of a previous order, and (b) an order requiring the mother to take the child to Italy by a certain date pursuant to Article 20. Appeal dismissed.

Father’s appeal against an order for reduced contact and in relation to case management issues regarding experts.

Mother’s High Court application for a passport order whereby in the event that the respondent father enters the jurisdiction from the US, his passport and any passport in the parties’ child’s name be seized.

Consideration within public law proceedings of the making of a request under Article 15, Brussels II Revised, for the relevant authority in Hungary to accept jurisdiction. Guidance provided on the role of Embassies / Central Authorities, international communications and Article 55.

Application for the making of a parental order following a surrogacy arrangement and the making of an adoption order in the United States of America. Application granted.

Supreme Court judgment concerning the meaning of the words ‘rights of custody’ in article 3 of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and Brussels II Revised.

Application by parents for permission to appeal against findings of fact in care proceedings. Consideration given to the local authority’s ‘neutral stance’ in respect of the appeal. Application dismissed.

Application by wife in big money financial remedy proceedings to withdraw and issue a fresh divorce petition and to receive further maintenance pending suit.

A public law children appeal to the Court of Appeal on an important point of principle or practice, considering the power and extent of an appellate court’s ability to ‘fill the gaps’ in the reasoning of a first instance decision and when such a discretion should be exercised, as opposed to directing a full re-hearing.

Consideration by the President of the Family Division of whether the Judicial Proceedings (Regulation of Reports) Act 1926 applied to an application by the Queen’s Proctor for the dismissal of a number of divorce petitions, and whether the Court had a discretion to allow publication of the whole of the proceedings under section 1(4) of that Act. Directions made permitting publication of the whole of the proceedings and comment provided as to the use of similar directions in financial remedy proceedings.

Appeal of care and placement orders due to insufficient analysis of risks and failure to consider all options. Appeal allowed and case remitted. Guidance given on public law appeals where the appellant is a litigant in person.

Consideration of special guardianship orders against adoption orders particularly in light of Re B-S [2013] EWCA Civ 813