Case Summaries

The judgment concerns the child arrangements for a 5-year-old girl, A.

In this case, the Court of Appeal (Sir Andrew McFarlane P, King LJ and Singh LJ) overturned the decision of Lieven J’s that a local authority, sharing Parental Responsibility by way of a Care Order, could consent to the de facto confinement and deprivation of a profoundly disabled fourteen-year-old boy.

In Re M (A Child: Intermediaries) [2025] EWCA Civ 440 the Court of Appeal allowed a mother’s appeal, granting intermediary assistance to ensure the mother’s effective participation in the proceedings. ​ Lord Justice Peter Jackson gave lead judgment.

This case concerns a Mother’s application to discharge a care order in respect of her two children and so to enable them to return to live with her.

This case concerns a young person (Q) who is almost 17 and seeks gender treatment.

This case concerns a child aged 21 months. There are two broad issues as stated in the judgment:’ 2 a. Which parent should A live with? and b. How much time should A spend with the parent with whom he is not living?’

This was a hearing of W’s application for leave under Part III of the Matrimonial and Family Proceedings 1984 (“the Act”) for permission to apply for financial provision in England after overseas divorce.  The application was heard by Cohen J.

The matter came before Mr Justice Trowell as an appeal from the findings of fact made by HHJ Williscroft in December 2023 and the subsequent Child Arrangements Order.

On 9 April 2025, Mr Justice Peel, heard an appeal brought by a mother (M) against a decision to order overnight staying contact for the parties’ daughter (referred to by the pseudonym, Amy) and the father (F), in spite of a Fact Finding Hearing being listed to determine the mother’s allegations of domestic abuse.

These proceedings were heard in the High Court and the court was concerned with one child, referred to as ‘L’ who was 2 and a half years old.

This was an application made by ‘TT’ for a declaration of non-non- parentage under s. 55A(1) of the Family Law Act 1986 (FLA).  

The Lord Chancellor applied for a declaration that 79 couples, in receipt of their final divorce orders already, were in fact divorced.

This case concerns an application by the applicant under the 1980 Hague Convention for summary return of the child aged 8 to Colombia. In the judgment, the child was referred to as ‘Sophia’.

This case concerns an application by the father for summary return of S, a boy aged 1 year 10 months to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Mr Justice McKendrick refused the summary return order.

This case concerns an application under the 1980 Hague Convention for a return order to Lithuania in respect of three children who are aged 9 (referred to as the older child or M), 4 and almost 3 (referred to as the younger children).

In November, HHJ Murden handed down judgment in committal proceedings brought by Ms H Simpson against her daughter Ms T Simpson. The application arose out of Family Law Act proceedings in which DJ Akers had made an Occupation Order in Ms H Simpson’s favour with a 10 year duration.