Child meaning

The 1980 Hague Convention This flowchart outlines the actions required during proceedings under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980, also known as the 1980 Hague Convention...

Procedural Guide This Procedural Guide explains the process for seeking an enforcement order under the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) to secure compliance with a child arrangements order (CAO). Such an order may require the respondent to complete unpaid work. It sets out details of the following: Who can apply Pre-action requirements Criminal standard of proof Orders the court may make Restrictions on making an enforcement order The procedure applies where a CAO has a warning notice properly attached and it is alleged the order has been breached, making enforcement necessary. Enforcing contact provisions can be difficult where the parent with whom the child lives is opposed to contact. Under ChA 1989 the court has extended powers to enforce all provisions of CAOs, not just those about contact but also those concerning a child’s living arrangements...

Procedural Guide: Applications for Child Arrangements Orders under section 8 Children Act 1989 This Procedural Guide outlines the procedural steps for applying under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) for a child arrangements order (CAO). It covers eligibility to apply, pre-action obligations including attendance at a mediation information and assessment meeting (MIAM), the court’s guiding principles, and provisions for non-court dispute resolution (NCDR). It also addresses service requirements and the criteria for without notice (ex parte) applications. Allocation, gatekeeping and safeguarding processes are explained, together with what may occur at the first hearing dispute resolution appointment (FHDRA) and the dispute resolution appointment (DRA), as well as the approach to fact-finding hearings, vulnerable witnesses and the final hearing. A CAO is one of the orders available to the court under ChA 1989, s 8. It is an order concerning: with whom a child is to live, spend time or otherwise have contact, and when a child is to live, spend time or...

Introduction This Flowchart sets out the procedure for securing the court’s approval of a settlement in a child’s case. It steers practitioners from the point of a proposed agreement to the approval hearing, covering when to commence proceedings, the paperwork needed for approval, how to address future losses and periodical payments, and how the court evaluates if the compromise is fair and reasonable...

In this issue: King’s Speech 2024 Criminal procedure and evidence Sentencing Bribery, corruption, sanctions and export controls Cybercrime and data protection offences Environmental offences Food safety and hygiene offences Fraud, forgery, tax and theft offences Health and safety and corporate manslaughter offences Local authority prosecutions Corporate Crime in Scotland Daily and weekly news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Useful information King’s Speech 2024 King’s Speech 2024—criminal justice and law enforcement His Majesty the King outlined the government’s priorities and intended policies for the forthcoming parliamentary session at the State Opening of Parliament on 17 July 2024. As in November 2023, public safety was central to the address, and the new Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, pledged to clamp down on anti‑social behaviour, reclaim our streets and protect our borders. To achieve this, he set out plans to bolster policing and the criminal justice...

Simkova v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2025] UKSC 41 What are the practical implications of this case? First, it is settled that EU nationals living in the UK, whose children reside in an EU member state, cannot receive the Universal Credit child element for those children. This holds even where the parent pays towards the children’s maintenance and support, notwithstanding the realities of cross‑border family life. Second, the judgment shows the courts continue to grapple with dense EU law even after Brexit, specifically in areas where the UK‑EU Withdrawal Agreement preserves direct effect. It underscores the ongoing need to interpret and apply those preserved rules when they bear on disputes arising in the domestic benefits system, for cases such as this. Third, this appeal did not give the Supreme Court an opportunity to define the scope of its discretion to seek a CJEU ruling on a question under Part Two of the Agreement concerning citizens’ rights. That discretion applies only to proceedings...

Original news Makhlouf v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Northern Ireland) [2016] UKSC 59, [2016] All ER (D) 93 (Nov) The Supreme Court rejected an appeal against a deportation order made against a foreign offender, notwithstanding that his children are British citizens living in the UK. While the appellant argued that removal would violate his and his children’s rights under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the court decided that, on the evidence, he had no relationship with either child and their lives had been completely unaffected by his being their father. The court also determined that the Secretary of State was not required to undertake further enquiries concerning the appellant and his children beyond those already conducted. What was the background to the case? The appellant, a Tunisian national, married a British citizen in Tunisia in 1996. In 1997, his wife returned to Northern Ireland for the birth of their daughter, and he subsequently joined her. He was granted indefinite leave...

This Practice Note outlines the concept of parental responsibility for children under section 3 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). It describes what sits within the scope of parental responsibility and how the courts have read this concept in connection with matters such as education, religious upbringing, consent to medical treatment, changing a child’s surname, and removing a child from the jurisdiction. Definition Parental responsibility relates to the care and raising of a child until they reach adulthood. Under the ChA 1989, parental responsibility comprises all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority that, in law, a parent holds in respect of their child and the child’s property. It also embraces the rights, powers and duties that a guardian of the child’s estate (appointed before the ChA 1989 commenced) possessed in relation to the child’s property. Those rights extend to receiving or recovering, in the guardian’s own name for the child’s benefit, property of any description and wherever located to which the child is entitled to receive...

This Practice Note summarises the court’s powers when making a special guardianship order (SGO), including decisions about a child’s surname and any removal from the jurisdiction. It also sets out what becomes of existing orders once an SGO is made and the need to consider whether to make a child arrangements order with contact provisions. Existing orders Making an SGO does not, by itself, end any order made under section 8 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) (an s 8 order). Before granting an SGO, the court must specifically consider whether any existing s 8 order should be varied or discharged. The governing test is whether it is in the child’s best interests for an existing order to remain operative. If a CAO with contact provisions stays in force and there is an enforcement order, the court must decide whether that enforcement order should be revoked. Where an activity direction exists, the court must also consider whether it ought to be...

Practice Note This Practice Note sets out guidance on the court’s authority to order periodical payments and/or lump sums covering school fees and other educational or training outgoings. It outlines the steps to be taken in matters involving parents who are or have been married or in a civil partnership, as well as in situations where the parents have never been married or in a civil partnership, and prescribes the process to follow. Significant limits apply to the court’s ability to make periodical payment orders for a child where the Child Maintenance Service (CMS) has, or would have, competence to carry out a maintenance calculation. Even so, the court still has power to direct that a parent, or any person who has treated the relevant child as a child of the family, must pay or contribute towards the expense of a child receiving instruction at an educational institution, or undertaking training for a trade, profession, or vocation (whether or not in paid work). Most frequently, such directions concern the...

In the Family Court sitting at [ Court name ] Case no: [ Case number ] Proceedings under: The Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 The Civil Partnership Act 2004 The Child Support Act 1991 Schedule 1 to the Children Act 1989 The Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 The Matrimonial and Family Proceedings Act 1984 and Schedule 7 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004 The Trusts of Land and Appointment of Trustees Act 1996 The Married Women’s Property Act 1882 and ss 67, 68 and 74 of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 OR [ (DELETE AS APPROPRIATE) ] The [ Marriage OR Civil Partnership OR Relationship OR Family ] of [ applicant name ] and [ respondent name ] Heard [ name the advocate(s) who appeared ]; considered documents filed by the parties [ [ (IN THE CASE OF AN ORDER MADE WITHOUT NOTICE) ] read the statements and heard the witnesses...

At the Family Court held at [ Court name ] Case No: [ Case number ] Non-Molestation Order The Family Law Act 1996 Full name(s) of the child(ren)Boy or girlDate(s) of birth [ Insert ] [ Insert ] [ Insert ] [ Insert ] [ Insert ] [ Insert ] Before [ name of judge ], in private, on [ date ] at a [ type of hearing ] Important notice to the respondent, [ RESPONDENT NAME ] of [ RESPONDENT address ] You are required to comply with this order. Please read it thoroughly. If any part is unclear, seek advice from a solicitor, a Legal Advice Centre or the Citizens Advice Bureau. You have the right to ask the court to vary or discharge this order. Warning: without reasonable excuse, doing anything this order prohibits amounts to a criminal offence; on conviction you may be liable to imprisonment for a...

Instructions: please read all of this before filling in the form Throughout this form, when we refer to: the ‘child’, we mean the child (including an unborn child) for whom you intend to take shared parental leave/pay; and the ‘Mother’, we mean that child’s mother or expectant mother. To take shared parental leave and/or claim shared parental pay, you must be: the child’s father; and/or married to the Mother; or the Mother’s civil partner; or the Mother’s ‘partner’. In this form, ‘partner’ means someone who lives with the Mother and will live with the child in an ‘enduring family relationship’, but is not the Mother’s child, parent (including adoptive or former adoptive parents), grandchild, grandparent, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister, aunt, uncle, niece or nephew. Provided you fall into one or more of the categories above, every reference in this form to the ‘Father or Partner’ is a reference to you...

Safeguarding (and promoting the welfare of children) is defined in the Government’s statutory guidance: Working together to safeguard children as: keeping children safe from maltreatment averting impairment to children’s health and development making sure children are raised in conditions that align with safe and effective care acting to ensure every child can achieve the best outcomes There is no specific obligation on an employer providing work experience to young people under 18 to introduce a safeguarding policy...

The young person is now past 18, has finished secondary schooling and is moving on to higher education. The prior maintenance arrangement has now ceased, and the child intends to seek financial provision under Schedule 1 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) by making their application. Under ChA 1989, Sch 1, a parent, guardian, or special guardian of a child, or any person in whose favour a residence order is in force with respect of a child, may apply for a range of orders for the benefit of a child as provided under Sch 1...

When a baby is born, the birth must be registered, and the surname entered at that time is intended to be the name by which the child is known. If a parent later wishes to change the child’s surname, they should first consult any other person who holds parental responsibility before any step is taken. This applies irrespective of the existence of a child arrangements order, and regardless of whether that person has contact with the child (Re PC (Change of Surname)). Where there is disagreement, the matter must be placed before the court for a determination. A contested change of surname must not be made unilaterally (Dawson v Wearmouth). Altering a name is a significant matter and should not be approached lightly. In deciding whether to grant leave, the court is guided by the welfare principle in section 1(1) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989), and will act accordingly...