Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

authorities definition

What does authorities mean? Authorities are the legal sources a lawyer relies on to justify a proposition of law in submissions, skeleton arguments and judgments. The term is descriptive and widely used across England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Ireland, rather than being defined by statute. Authorities typically include: primary legislation and subordinate legislation; binding appellate case law within the relevant jurisdiction; and, as persuasive material, decisions from other UK or foreign courts, tribunal rulings, EU and ECHR jurisprudence where applicable, and reputable academic commentary. In Scotland, the writings of the institutional writers (e.g. Stair, Erskine, Bell) may carry particular weight. Textbooks and...

Designation of Local Authorities in Care and Supervision Orders: Ordinary Residence, s 31(8), s 105(6), A v A, and 1996 Hague Convention (England and Wales)

Published by a LexisNexis Local Government expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note offers practical guidance on the frequently debated question of which Local authority should be designated for section 31 of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). Specifically, it examines and clarifies:

the distinct statutory criteria governing designation for both Care orders and supervision orders in such cases
for care orders, whether and to what extent A v A (Children: Habitual Residence) (Reunite International Child Abduction Centre) influences the understanding of ‘ordinary residence’ in particular
the operation of the ‘stop clock’ in ChA 1989, s 105(6), and the effect of amendments to ChA 1989, s 22 introduced by the Children and Young Persons Act 2008 on the definition of a looked after child in this context

General principles

The Family Court may not issue a care order or a supervision order in the abstract. Any such order must identify the local authority charged with the responsibility of caring for, or supervising, the child in question. The order must, therefore, designate the Authority that is to be responsible. Upon designation, the local authority with responsibility for the child under a care or supervision order assumes statutory duties towards that child. Those duties bring with them resource implications and it is therefore unsurprising...

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Ruth Cabeza

Harcourt Chambers

I am a self employed barrister specialising in family practicing from Field Court Chambers London, where I have been a tenant since 2001. My practice has always included matrimonial finance, public law children and adoption and private law children. Presently the majority of my instructions in all areas of my practice involve an international element. I also act in cases where a child has suffered very serious injuries. In the last few years I have been pleased to develop an appellate practice and have acted in several appeal cases where I have not been instructed at first instance, including a complex second appeal to the Court of Appeal in 2015. I have been instructed as an expert on the application of international adoption law in public law children cases. I am an experienced speaker at lectures and conferences on child law matters,...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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