from the Inner Temple Library
C v East Sussex County Council (Adoption)
Court of Appeal
“While Parliament had given social workers wide powers, which they must not abuse, they had to remember that the court was the ultimate arbiter of what was in the best interests of a child.”
The Times, 9th May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“Two senior judges have strongly criticised a local authority that forced through the adoption of a baby girl against the wishes of her father.”
The Times, 2nd May 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“A father has been jailed for helping his pregnant wife flee abroad because she was terrified that social services would take her baby.”
Daily Telegraph, 8th February 2008
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“A consultation on the government’s strategy for developing the fees system in the civil and family courts of England and Wales. The consultation sets out proposals to:
Public Law Family Fees Consultation Paper (PDF)
Questionnaire (Word)
Ministry of Justice, 19th December 2007
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
In re C (A child)(Adoption: Local authority duty)
Court of Appeal
“There was no duty on a local authority to make inquiries of a child’s extended family or father about the possibility of their providing long-term care where mother wished to place the child for adoption.”
The Times, 5th December 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“Twenty babies born to British surrogate mothers have been taken abroad unlawfully by the foreign couples who commissioned them because of an oversight by British courts, it emerged yesterday.”
The Guardian, 5th December 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
In re C (A Child)(Adoption: Local Authority’s Duty) [2007] EWCA Civ 1206
“S 1 of the Adoption and Children Act 2002 did not impose a duty on the local authority to make inquiries of a child’s extended family or father about the possibility of their providing long-term care in circumstances where the child had been conceived as a result of a fleeting relationship and the mother wished to place the child for adoption.”
WLR Daily, 26th November 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note: once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“A mother’s decision to put a child conceived during a one-night stand up for adoption has turned into a legal dilemma over parental rights and responsibilities.”
The Guardian, 8th November 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“An ex-magistrate who says he was forced to resign because he would not place children for adoption with gay couples has lost his appeal.”
BBC News, 31st October 2007
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A Christian magistrate was forced to resign because he refused to place children for adoption with gay couples, an employment appeal tribunal was told yesterday.”
The Times, 23rd October 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“A Christian magistrate who claims that he had to quit the bench because he objects to adoption by gay couples is taking the Government to court today.”
Daily Telegraph, 22nd October 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“One of the longest child custody cases in British legal history is to return to the high court as an infertile African couple make a new attempt to recover the child they claim as their ‘miracle’ baby.”
The Guardian, 15th September 2007
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“Record numbers of young children are being taken from their parents and adopted - sometimes unjustly - to meet government targets, it is claimed today.”
The Times, 24th August 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“The woman at the centre of a battle with social services over the future of her unborn baby will not be able to claim an exemption from the UK’s Data Protection Act, a legal expert has warned.”
OUT-LAW.com, 22nd August 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
“A heavily pregnant woman is at the centre of an extraordinary legal battle with social workers after she secretly recorded them threatening to take away her newborn baby.”
Daily Telegraph, 19th August 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“Family courts are refusing to tell mothers why their babies are being taken away and put up for forced adoption.”
Daily Telegraph, 5th August 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
“The BBC must obscure the identity of a young woman in a documentary on adoption in order to protect her privacy despite the woman consenting to participate in the programme.”
OUT-LAW.com, 13th July 2007
Source: www.out-law.com
“A legal bid to lift the secrecy surrounding children taken from parents and put up for adoption has been launched by an MP.”
The Daily Telegraph, 7th July 2007
Source: www.telegraph.co.uk
Two-stage decision process for judges
In re P (A Child) (Adoption proceedings)
Court of Appeal
“Judges hearing applications by parents for leave to defend adoption proceedings after a placement order had been made had to undertake a two-stage process: first, decide whether there had been sufficient change of circumstance; then consider what the welfare of the child required.”
The Times, 29th June 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
In re P (A Child) (Adoption Proceedings)
“A court’s decision whether or not to grant leave to a parent to oppose the making of an adoption order, pursuant to s 47(5) of the Adoption and Children Act 2002, was “a decision relating to the adoption of a child” within the meaning of s 1(1) of the 2002 Act. Therefore, by s 1(2) of the Act, the paramount consideration of the court was the child’s welfare.”
WLR Daily, 27th June 2007
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the WLR Daily summary is removed.
Premature advertising for adoption
In re K (Child) (Adoption: Permission to advertise)
Family Division
“Before a child could be advertised for adoption the local authority had to be satisfied that the child ought to be placed for adoption.”
The Times, 20th April 2007
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“A British woman has launched a court challenge to become the legal guardian of a 160lb chimpanzee in a test case that could confer basic rights on apes across Europe. “
The Independent, 9th April 2007
Source: www.independent.co.uk
