The decision to appoint an intermediary (including lay advocates) in family proceedings is always one for the judge. The President has issued Practice Guidance on The use of Intermediaries, Lay Advocates and Cognitive Assessments in the Family Court. It is important that readers note that when a party applies for a cognitive assessment or an …
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The Family Justice Council has published best practice guidance for lawyers on neurodiversity in the Family Justice System. The move is intended to provide fairer treatment for neurodivergent children and families given the additional barriers they face. Aimed particularly at legal practitioners who work with neurodivergent users of the justice system, the President states in …
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In February’s edition of PL, we covered an adoption decision in which a judge criticised the LA for refusing a birth mother direct contact with the child. Another LA has attracted judicial criticism for its failure to understand its obligations around support services. LAs have a statutory obligation to offer appropriate support services to prospective …
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The court has power to vary or suspend a periodical payments order under s31 MCA if a parent’s financial circumstances change significantly. As always, the court will consider the welfare of the children before making any order. A was a company executive in China with an income assessed at £7,500 a month. In June 2023 …
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The CA has handed down an important judgment in which it held that an employee who expressed her protected beliefs on social media posts had been unlawfully dismissed. The case summary is as follows: ‘1. The Claimant in this case, Mrs Higgs, was dismissed from the school where she worked because she had posted messages …
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The Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 created two new offences of what’s known as ‘upskirting’. A was convicted of voyeurism but appealed on the basis there was no case to answer. A, a railway worker, was on a train wearing his uniform and took several pictures of his victim (C) while she was asleep. CCTV showed …
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The overriding principle of totality is that the overall sentence should reflect all the offending behaviour, with reference to overall harm and culpability and the aggravating and mitigating factors relating to the offences, and those personal to the offender. The sentence should also be just and proportionate. In this case, a sentence of 18 years’ …
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The fraught impact of the introduction of the Building Safety Act 2022 may have faded from the legal headlines, but the impact on affected properties and the wider property market will continue to be felt for some years. An important statistic is that seven years on from Grenfell, of the 4,834 buildings 11 metres and …
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HMLR has updated PG16 (profits a prendre). Not a PG that practitioners will use every day, but important therefore to ensure that the correct forms are used. HMLR reminds us that: ‘A profit a prendre is a right to take something from another person’s land. This could be part of the land itself, such as …
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HMLR has updated PG8 (execution of deeds): ‘Section 2.7.2 has been amended to clarify that HM Land Registry will accept a certificate by the conveyancer acting for the limited partnership stating that a deed has been duly and properly executed in accordance with the partnership’s constitution.’ Source: www.gov.uk.