Admissibility of foreign convictions in children proceedings (W-A (Children: Foreign Conviction))

Table of contents

• What are the practical implications of this case?
• What was the background?
• What did the court decide?

Article summary

Family analysis: For the first time in children proceedings, the Court of Appeal considered the admissibility and status of a criminal conviction made by a foreign court, finding that strict evidential rules and precedents that exclude such convictions from the evidence have no place in proceedings that are designed to protect children and which involve an analysis of welfare. The fact of a foreign conviction will stand as proof of the facts underlying it, unless that presumption is rebutted on the balance of probabilities. Chris Stevenson, barrister at 4PB, considers the implications of the decision.