Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

BC v A Local Authority: Child victim’s name change under care order—Article 8 ECHR, Children Act 1989 welfare checklist, and weight accorded to mature wishes, England and Wales

Published on: 04 July 2024

Published by a LexisNexis Family expert

Legal News

Article summary

BC v A Local Authority and others [2024] EWHC 1639 (Fam)

What are the practical implications of this case?

When an application to alter a name is brought not by the local authority or a parent, but by the child, Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is triggered. The child’s welfare remains the court’s overriding priority. In deciding whether a forename or surname should be changed, the court must consider the welfare checklist in sections 1(1) and 3(1) of the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989). Outcomes depend heavily on the particular facts.

What was the background?

The child had been under a final care order since June 2022 and the local authority placed her in long‑term foster care. In 2021, her father was arrested and charged with sexual offences, including rape of his daughter (paras [7] to [18]). Within the care proceedings, His Honour Judge Shelton found the child’s allegations against her father proven. She had lived with her foster carers for more than two and a half years, was settled and doing well at school, and had no contact with her father, but...

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