Procedure and case management

Practice notes

Jurisdictional issues in children proceedings

11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU....

21st Jan

Practice notes

Children as parties to public law proceedings

This Practice Note provides guidance on the circumstances in which children may be made parties to public law proceedings and deals with the procedure...

17th Jan

Practice notes

Public children—interaction between criminal and care proceedings

Practitioners dealing with care proceedings where there are concurrent or imminent criminal proceedings need to be prepared to deal with a number of...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 17th Jan

Practice notes

Public law fact-finding and split hearings

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

17th Jan

Practice notes

Evidence in public children proceedings

This Practice Note deals with evidence in public children proceedings including admissibility, credibility, competence and compellability. It also...

17th Jan

Practice notes

Litigants in person and McKenzie friends—public law

This Practice Note sets out guidance and best practice in cases where a party is acting in person or via a McKenzie friend in public law children...

17th Jan

Practice notes

Termination, discharge and variation of care and supervision orders

Care orders—generalA care order ends when the child reaches 18 or if brought to an end in another way. A child arrangements order naming a person as...

17th Jan

Practice notes

Costs in public law children proceedings

General principlesIn children proceedings the general rule that costs will follow the event does not apply. Express statutory provision is made in the...

17th Jan

Practice notes

Case management in public children proceedings

IP COMPLETION DAY: 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marks the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following the UK’s...

17th Jan

Practice notes

Public children—Public Law Outline 2014

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

17th Jan

COVID-19

Practice notes

Preparation of court bundles in family proceedings

Coronavirus (COVID-19): Guidance has been issued, including by the President of the Family Division, regarding all proceedings in the Family Court in...

17th Jan

COVID-19

Practice notes

Designation of local authorities for the purposes of care and supervision orders

This Practice Note aims to provide guidance on the often controversial issue of local authority designation for the purposes of section 31 of the...

Produced in partnership with Ruth Cabeza of Field Court Chambers 16th Jan

Practice notes

Public funding in care proceedings

Public funding in care proceedings is provided for parties by the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) who are an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice...

Produced in partnership with Claire Cousin of Dodds Solicitors LLP 16th Jan

Practice notes

Child protection conferences

Please note the information in this Practice Note relates to the current law in England. The law in Wales in this area is covered by the Social...

Produced in partnership with Claire Cousin 16th Jan

Q&As

Can the court make findings against parents within care proceedings if the local authority are not seeking any? Can the court direct that there be a fact-finding hearing if no other party deems it necessary or appropriate?

The philosophical underpinning of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) is that the child’s welfare is the paramount consideration. The ultimate arbiter of...

Produced in partnership with Matthew Fletcher of 1 Garden Court Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a court in England and Wales makes an interim care order, can the child be placed in Scotland by the local authority?

Care proceedings are governed by different statutes in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland respectively. Care orders in England and...

Produced in partnership with Chris Bryden of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Scottish Law

Q&As

In private children proceedings, a report under section 37 of the Children Act 1989 is to be sought, however, one of the parents has made a successful complaint against the local authority (LA) in question, perceives bias and does not wish that the LA prepare the report. Can the report be prepared by someone other than the LA, for example the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service, an independent social worker or another LA?

This responds considers who can prepare a report directed under section 37 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989).ChA 1989, s 37 provides that where, in...

Produced in partnership with Katherine Illsley of 4 King’s Bench Walk 8th Jan

Q&As

In care proceedings, the local authority sought a direction that the Parent A should not be given notice of the proceedings, and the court ordered that the Parent A would receive notice if they instructed solicitors, and for the court bundle to be redacted including details of the parties’ representatives. Parent B believes Parent A to be a threat to them and the children. The local authority has now provided Parent A’s solicitor with details of Parent B’s representatives in error. What steps can be taken to prevent that information being disclosed to Parent A by their solicitor?

A solicitor has duty to follow their client’s instructions and to act in the best interests of their client. However, solicitors are officers of the...

Produced in partnership with Ruth Cabeza of Field Court Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

Can admissions contained in 'without prejudice' documentation in children matters be admissible ie where correspondence is marked 'without prejudice' will that have an absolute effect in children cases?

Without prejudice communicationsWithout prejudice immunity is based on the public policy that parties should be encouraged to settle litigation, or...

Produced in partnership with Kirstie Danton of St Ives Chambers 8th Jan

Q&As

Where a child is represented separately within care proceedings and the child is competent to give instructions and wishes to move to live with her paternal grandmother in Israel, what application can be made on behalf of the child and what form should be used?

Pursuant to section 22C of the Children Act 1989 a local authority, where a looked after child cannot be cared for by their parents, must consider...

Produced in partnership with Ruth Cabeza of Field Court Chambers 8th Jan

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