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Family Law
 
Family Law
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Children

The Children Act 1989 covers proceedings, which are Private and those which are Public.

Private Law

A relevant person can apply to the Court an Order such as:-

    • A Parental Responsibility Order – Parental Responsibility is all the rights, duties and responsibilities a parent has in relation to their child and their child’s property. Can be acquired via a Parental Responsibility Agreement or an Order of the Court. The Court will assess the welfare of the child, the association between the parties, commitment, degree of attachment and reasons for applying;
    • A Contact Order – an Order to regulate contact, which may contain certain conditions, between the child and the non-resident parent;
    • A Residence Order – an Order which regulates with whom a child shall live;
    • A Prohibited Steps Order – an Order preventing a person from carrying out a specified act;
    • A Specific Issue Order – an Order allowing one to carry out a specified act.

In deciding whether or not to grant an order, the Court will assess the following:-

  • the ascertainable wishes and feelings of the child concerned (in light of age and understanding);
  • the child’s physical, emotional and educational needs;
  • the likely effect on the child of any change in his or her circumstances;
  • the child’s age, sex, background and any characteristics which the Court considers relevant;
  • any harm which the child has suffered or is at risk of suffering;
  • how capable each fo the child’s parents are in meeting that child’s needs.

Public Law

Child Protection

A child’s name can be placed on the Child Protection Register under the category of neglect, physical abuse, emotional abuse and/or sexual abuse, if there is reason to believe that the children are at risk of that abuse.

If a Local Authority wishes to apply for a Care or Supervision Order, it will be necessary fort there to be Court proceedings. Court proceedings may be instigated in with the Family Proceedings Court or County Court. It is usual to instigate proceedings in the area in which the child resides. The proceedings are usually referred to as Care Proceedings. If you are a parent of a child who is subject to Care Proceedings, you will automatically be entitled to Public Funding, which is non-means and non-merits.

 Child Abduction

Abduction is the wrongful taking away of a child or the wrongful retention of a child. Matters can be dealt with in both the criminal courts and the family courts. In the family courts, proceedings can be issue in the County Court of the Family Division of the High Court in London.

A child is wrongfully removed if that child is removed from the parent who has custody rights and that child was habitually resident in England and Wales at the time of the abduction.

Once can obtain an Order preventing the removal of the child from the jurisdiction.

If you believe that a child is in the process of being adducted then contact the police immediately. The police will require you to provide details of the child(ren) concerned, details of the likely abductor and your details. The police can place a Port Alert for a period of between 24 hours to 28 days if appropriate. This can be done without there being Court proceedings.

If a child has been wrongfully removed from the jurisdiction, one may consider seeking the return under the Hague Convention. The Hague Convention was established to assist in the expedited return of children wrongfully removed from this Country and whose habitual residence was that of the UK.

Hague Convention

As from September 2003, the following Countries are members of the Hague Convention, in line with the UK:-

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, Croatia, southern Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, Fiji, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macao, Macedonia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, St Kitts & Nevis, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uruguay, U.S.A., Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

Wardship

Wardship is to protect the interests of children. If a child is made a Ward of Court, the Court’s powers exceed that of the parent. The Court is empowered to override the parents’ wishes and no parent/person can make a decision in respect of a child without leave of the Court. Proceedings are issued in the High Court.

An application is made in an originating summons with a copy of the child’s Birth Certificate. The papers are sent to the Court then personally served upon the Defendant. The child will remain a Ward for the period of 21 days and the Court will arrange a Court hearing date.
 
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