Latest updates
- The latest stage in a protracted piece of financial remedies litigation. The matter listed had been whether a stay should be granted to the wife to allow her not to transfer certain monies from a Swiss account pursuant to the order under appeal, but in the event Lieven J was able to consider both the stay and the outstanding points on appeal. The wife argued for the husband to provide an indemnity that covered her potential liability to a firm of solicitors. Lieven J found that the risk the wife perceived could not be considered fanciful. There had been a significant change of circumstances, and it had been inequitable not to vary the order. The clean break settlement would have left her unable to recover the money needed to cover the contingent liability to which she was potentially now exposed. Judgment, 06/03/2021, free
- The father appealed against a decision to set aside a return order and to dismiss his application for summary return. The father was an Italian national, the mother a British national, and shortly after their son was born in England they moved to Italy. In 2019, when the child was 10, the mother brought him to England and they did not return. The judge had found that the evidence of the child's wishes and feelings amounted to "a fundamental change of circumstances" and "a fundamental change to the basis on which the previous order was made". In Hayden J's view, although the judge had clearly identified a significant and sustained degree of pressure placed on the child by his mother, he did not seem to have considered how this would have compromised the authenticity of the child's expressed views. The test as to whether there had been a 'fundamental change of circumstances' had to be set high. The mother's application was a clear example of an attempt to reargue a case which had already been comprehensively determined. Asplin and Moylan LJJ agreed. The appeal would be allowed and an order made for the child's return to Italy. The child would not be added as a party to proceedings; to do so would only serve to heighten the conflict that he had struggled to avoid. Judgment, 04/03/2021, free
- The mother was English, and the father was Libyan, with a British passport. They had three children, aged 3, 5 and 6. The mother had left Libya in 2018 but the children had remained there. She now applied under the inherent jurisdiction for orders that the court should protect the children, invoking "the ancient parens patriae jurisdiction": the Crown's obligation to protect those who are unable to protect themselves. She had not raised this in previous unsuccessful proceedings, relying instead on habitual residence and/or Article 10. Had this been a case about money, Mostyn J said, the failure to advance the parens patriae case first time round would not have been justified and therefore the current case would have stopped for Henderson abuse. However, because this was a case about children, he decided that this should instead be considered as part of the overall discretionary exercise as to whether the jurisdiction should be exercised. He found that the circumstances in this case were not sufficiently compelling to require the court to exercise its protective jurisdiction. The evidence showed that an order for repatriation which sought the assistance of the Libyan authorities would be futile. It did not show there had been a major deterioration in the security situation in Libya since the relocation to Libya, to which the wife had consented, nor since the previous order had been made, such that would justify it being set aside. The mother's application was dismissed. Mostyn J urged the father to allow the mother to have meaningful contact with her children. Judgment, 20/01/2021, free
- The husband and wife had been engaged in highly acrimonious and litigious financial remedy proceedings since late 2019. This hearing concerned the husband's application for the wife to pay, on an indemnity basis, his costs of a preliminary issue regarding the beneficial ownership of five ships and whether the couple were indebted to the second to sixth respondents. The latter issue had been settled following a payment from those respondents to the wife. Lieven J stated that the wife's conduct had been "fairly extraordinary". She had alleged a conspiracy to defraud her of millions of pounds of matrimonial assets, and then decided not to pursue those allegations, having already put the husband to enormous expense and depriving him of the chance to clear his name. It was a basic principle, said Lieven J, that fraud should not be pleaded without sufficient evidence. Where a party pleaded fraud, and then withdrew that claim, the argument that they should pay the other party's costs was even stronger than in the withdrawal of other types of claim. The wife would pay the husband's costs of and occasioned by the preliminary issues on an indemnity basis. Judgment, 15/01/2021, free
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Calculating ‘reasonable’ and ‘immediate’ needs in MPS applications: Rattan v Kuwad [2021] EWCA Civ 1The Court of Appeal considered how a court should assess reasonable and immediate needs when faced with an application for maintenance pending suit. News, 14/01/2021, free
Latest know-how
- Cohen J heard applications made by both husband and wife following the handing down of judgment after a final hearing between the parties in March 2020. He gave two separate judgments. Case note, 25/02/2021, free
- Lieven J was concerned with an application for indemnity costs, where allegations of conspiracy and fraud had been made but were then withdrawn at the eleventh hour. Case note, 11/01/2021, free
- Cobb J was concerned with interim applications made under Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 in respect of a child who was just three weeks old. Case note, 07/12/2020, free
- The husband appealed a final financial remedy order made by Cohen J. The sole ground of appeal was that the judge failed to assess or take into account the husband’s needs, and only considered the wife’s needs. Case note, 20/10/2020, free
- On 14 August 2020, Gwynneth Knowles J (“the judge”) gave a judgment in the long-running case of Akhmedova v Akhmedov. The scale of the litigation was large and there were 10 respondents to the applications made by Tatiana Akhmedova (“W”), as well as 10 respondents to committal applications made by W. Case note, 10/09/2020, free
Latest training
- Manage your family court forms and orders effectively and efficiently, whether you are at home, in the office or out and about. Quantum, our well known and well used family forms package, has been full rebuilt for the cloud - with improved security and time saving features. Learn how the program can be used to enhance your practice and revolutionise the way you complete your family forms and orders. Webcast, 21/10/2020, free
- Recording of webinar first broadcast on 15th October 2020. Webcast, 20/10/2020, free
- Recording of webinar first broadcast on Wednesday 20th May 2020. Webcast, 21/05/2020, free
- Recording of live webinar, first broadcast on Wednesday 1st April 2020. Webcast, 02/04/2020, free
- Recording of webinar with Kelly Barnett, Senior Associate at Mills & Reeve & Helen Evans, Barrister at 4 New Square. This webinar was first broadcast on 29th January 2020. Webcast, 29/01/2020, members only
Latest sources
- The text of guidance requiring orders in non-financial cases to be drafted on the day of the hearing in the Central Family Court. In force from 12 November 2018 Practice direction, 23/11/2018, free
- Use this form to ask the President of the Family Division to authorise individuals working for the named charity to attend and report on family proceedings. Form (external), 01/10/2018, free
- Use this form if you have authority to attend and report on a family proceedings hearing. A form is needed for each hearing you attend. Form (external), 01/10/2018, free
- Came into force on 23 July 2018 Practice direction, 27/07/2018, free
- New Practice Direction on bundles, supplementing FPR Part 27, will come into force on 23 July. Practice direction, 20/06/2018, free