The Protection from Harassment Act 1997 (PHA 1997) creates a general prohibition on conduct amounting to harassment. It contains no definition of harassment. However there is an objective test, which is defined by reference to the person whose course of conduct is in question, knowing that such conduct amounts to harassment of another. A person is deemed to know that such conduct amounts to harassment if a reasonable person in possession of the same information would think the course amounted to harassment. It envisages that in order for behaviour to constitute harassment, there must be a course of conduct. A course of conduct must involve relevant conduct on at least two occasions. Where harassment has taken place

Paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) gives the court the power to order periodical payments to be paid by one parent to the other for the benefit of the child. This is subject to section 8 of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) which strips the court of its jurisdiction to make an order for child periodical payments in the event the

Where a child has been removed from their home country without the consent of the other parent or the permission of a court of that country, it is open to a party to make an application under the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on Civil International Aspects of Child Abduction (the 1980 Hague Convention) (where the country is a signatory to that convention) for a summary order requiring the return of that child. The court has limited opportunity to refuse such an order in the event that it is found that the child is not habitually resident

Parental responsibility is defined by section 3 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) as ‘all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent of a child has in relation to the child and his property’. By virtue of ChA 1989, s 2, where the child’s father and mother were married to each other at the time of birth, they each have parental responsibility for the child. ChA 1989, s 4 deals with the acquisition of parental responsibility by the father where the parents were not married. A father can acquire parental responsibility by being named on the child’s birth certificate, by a parental responsibility agreement, or a court order. The Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition,

Once a child is subject to a supervision order under section 31 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), the child is placed in the care or supervision of a local authority. The purpose of such an order is so that the local authority can ‘advise, assist and befriend’ the child. There can be requirements, such as for certain activities to be done, however it does not give the local authority parental responsibility and, as such, it would not be able to potentially take action to return the child without first applying to the court for wardship or a care order. The local authority could make an application to make the child a

A special guardianship order is an order appointing one or more individuals to be a child’s ‘special guardian’ pursuant to section 14A of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It enables a special guardian to exercise parental responsibility in respect of the child to the exclusion of others who also hold parental responsibility. The court must ensure that the proposed special guardian is aged 18 or over and is not a parent of the child in question. The court may not make a special guardianship order unless it has received a report from the local authority dealing

The first question for the English court in this scenario, in the event that father applied for an order under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), would be where the child is habitually resident. Section 2(1) of the Family Law Act 1986 provides that the English court shall not make an order under ChA 1989, s 8 unless either it has jurisdiction under Council Regulation (EC) 2201/2003 (Brussels II bis) or the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (1996 Hague Convention). Article 8 of Council Regulation (EC) 2201/2003, Brussels II bis provides that the courts of a Member State shall have jurisdiction

For the purpose of this Q&A, we have assumed that: • the child of the deceased is not a minor • a grant of letters of administration has been made to the siblings It is assumed that the deceased died totally intestate, in which case, a grant of letters of administration will need to be applied for. The Q&A does not specify whether the deceased left a surviving spouse or just surviving children. The order of priority for a grant of letters of administration is governed by the Non-Contentious Probate Rules 1987, SI 1987/2024, r 22, as amended, and so the surviving spouse would be first in priority with the children second. As the children have a beneficial interest in the estate, then the spouse would apply for a grant

The child is now over the age of 18, has completed secondary education and is entering tertiary education. The original maintenance has now come to an end, and the child wishes to apply themselves for financial provision under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). Under ChA 1989, Sch 1 an application may be made by a parent, guardian or special guardian of a child, or by any person in whose favour a residence order is in force with respect of a child, for a variety of orders for the benefit of a child. The orders that may be applied for

Where a child is subject to a care order, the rules as to the local authority dealing with the case are set out in section 31(8) of the Children Act 1989, which states that: ‘(8) the local authority designated in a care order must be— (a) the authority within whose area the child is ordinarily resident; or (b) where the child does not reside in the area of a local authority, the authority within whose area any circumstances arose in consequence of which the order is being made.’ The

Section 4(1) of the Child Support Act 1991 (CSA 1991) provides that a person who is, in relation to any qualifying child or any qualifying children, either the person with care or the non-resident parent may apply to the Secretary of State for a maintenance calculation to be made with respect to that child, or any of those children, save where there is an order for child maintenance in place that is less than one year old. The jurisdiction of the Secretary of State to make a calculation upon receipt of an application is dependent upon one or both of the child’s parents not being resident with the child, the child coming within the definition of ‘child’, and both the resident and non-resident

Once an individual has reached the age of 16, they become capable of acquiring their own domicile of choice. At that point, the individual can: • retain their domicile of dependence as a domicile of choice • abandon their domicile of dependence and acquire a different domicile of choice, or • abandon their domicile of dependence, but not acquire a domicile of choice, so that their domicile of origin revives C’s residence in Country B C may have acquired a domicile of choice in Country B by virtue