The December issue of the Bloomsbury Family Law Briefing is now available for subscribers.
Case Summaries
CAO v Secretary of State for the Home Department [2024] UKSC (NI) 32, [2024] 3 WLR 847 – Asylum refused by First Tier Tribunal and Upper Tribunal, appealed against by the mother applicant for asylum: Nigerian mother and children (aged 16 and 12 in 2018). Order of FTT restored, they had given sufficient account of the welfare of the children concerned.
Re M (Children: Contact In Prison) [2024] EWCA Civ 1104, [2024] 4 WLR 87 (24 September 2024) – Lieven J had made a contact order for the mother to take children aged 12 and 10 to prison where the father was serving a sentence of imprisonment for rape of their mother, his wife. Her appeal was allowed and remitted for rehearing. The judge had not clearly evaluated the Children Act 1989, s 1 checklist, and the factors in relation to domestic abuse in Family Procedure Rules 2010 PD12J.
Re Hazeltine [2024] EWHC 2982 (Fam) (21 November 2024), Cobb J – Committal in respect of six proved contempts of a father of two children aged 12 and 9. His contempt in the face of the court was insulting and abusing of judges, disruptive of the court proceedings, and he seemed unwilling to recognise the authority of the court.
EF v Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority [2024] EWHC 3004 (Fam) (22 November 2024), Theis J – Application by EF, a man, for a declaration that it is lawful for him to use an embryo created using his sperm and his recently deceased wife’s eggs in treatment with a surrogate. Application allowed and deceased wife’s consent treated as given.
General Dental Council v KK & Anor [2024] EWHC 3053 (Fam) (25 November 2024), Knowles J – Local authority passed on family courts material from care proceedings concerning a dentist KK for disciplinary proceedings by the General Dental Council without court order. Steps taken to repudiate and correct this error, and a fresh – lawful (per Family Procedure Rules 2010, r 12.73) – release of documents order made. Possible contempt proceedings should not be pursued.
Moss v Upper Tribunal [2024] EWCA Civ 1414, [2024] WLR(D) 499 (15 November 2024). In allowing the appeal of Mr Moss (M) Coulson LJ proposed a basis for unifying principles set out on non-party release of documents across all civil proceedings as derived from Guardian News and Media v Westminster and Cape Intermediate (both considered in the article).
Proceedings in private: contempt and Administration of Justice Act 1960
The Law Commission is consulting on contempt of court. It has published a Consultation Paper 262 on Contempt of Court (9 July 2024). This article looks at the law of contempt, important to family lawyers, their clients and to journalists concerned in family proceedings in Administration of Justice Act 1960 (AJA 1960), s 12(1) and (4). AJA 1960, s 12(1) applies to ‘publication’ in respect of all proceedings heard ‘in private’, especially children proceedings where publication may be in contempt of court. AJA 1960, s 12(4) enables rule makers to make exceptions to proceedings automatically in contempt, as Family Procedure Rules 2010, Pt 12 Chapter 7 has done. Operation of AJA 1960, s 12(1) and the working of the AJA 1960, s 12(4) exceptions and their application in practice are explained in the article.