Case Summaries

Application by prospective adopters for an injunction requiring the Local Authority to return one of the children to their care
– issue as to whether or not the prospective adopters had already given notice under section 35 (1) ACA 2002 of their wish to return the child
– whether a Local Authority wishing to terminate a placement with prospective adopters is required to give notice under s.35(2) if the child is not living with the adopters but has been returned to the Local Authority for a period of respite care

The Court of Appeal dismisses a mother’s appeal against findings of fact made in care proceedings.

An appeal against a decision of Mostyn J in 2016 on an ‘out of hours’ application for orders under the inherent jurisdiction against Mr Mazhar, which orders resulted in Mr Mazhar, then aged 26, being removed from home to hospital.
The appeal raises important issues about how such applications should be dealt with in the future, with a proposal that the judgment of the court be brought to the attention of the President of the Family decision to allow him to consider whether fresh guidance to practitioners and judges.

Equalising the balance between certainty and fairness in arbitration proceedings?

Private law proceedings, which became public law proceedings, in a legally and factually complex case concerning a young person, X. Issues of jurisdiction are considered in detail by Knowles J, as well as a decision to discontinue a fact finding hearing.

An order under the inherent jurisdiction authorising the local authority to deprive an extremely vulnerable 16 year old of her liberty in circumstances where neither a secure placement nor a regulated non-secure placement was available and the only place that could be found was unregulated. The only alternative was to refuse the application, leaving G with nowhere to go.

High Court granted permission to dispense with service upon a father of proceedings seeking the deprivation of a 17 year old’s liberty.

This was an appeal made by a local authority against a decision of HHJ Wicks in adoption proceedings concerning a child, Y (aged 2 years and 8 months). HHJ Wicks had granted Y’s parents leave to oppose the making of an adoption order. The appeal was dismissed. Of wider interest is the fact that this was the first remote hearing before the Court of Appeal involving litigants with hearing difficulties. The court referred the matter to the President and MacDonald J to consider whether the guidance on the conduct of remote and hybrid hearings needs amendment to address the difficulties faced by disabled litigants in general and those with hearing loss in particular.

Judgment determining whether the LA had satisfied threshold in circumstances where the subject children’s sibling, K, aged 3, had died as a result of alleged cocaine ingestion.

A father’s unsuccessful application to transfer the welfare stage of care proceedings to Romania.