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R (Greyhound Board of Great Britain Ltd) v Welsh Ministers [2026] EWHC 670 (Admin) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling reinforces the constitutional divide between the courts and the legislature. It explains that the scheme and framework of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (GWA 2006) embody that separation of powers, and that any judicial attempt to recognise and enforce a common law obligation on Welsh Ministers to consult prior to introducing legislation in the Senedd would trespass upon that boundary. This is not a departure from established principle; case law has already upheld comparable rules for lawmakers in Scotland and at Westminster. However, this is the first express confirmation of the position for Welsh lawmakers, and the first time this dimension of the GWA 2006 has been analysed in such depth. The court examined earlier
The solution arrived through the United Nations Compensation Commission (UNCC), a quasi‑judicial body handling mass claims, created under UN Security Council Resolution 687. By addressing environmental harm—most notably via its ‘F4’ claim class—the UNCC set a seminal benchmark shaping how international law and contemporary arbitral panels allocate financial responsibility for wartime ecological devastation. With present-day wars in areas such as Eastern Europe and the Middle East bringing dam breaches, strikes on chemical facilities, and the burning of farmland, the UNCC’s legacy endures as an essential reference point for states, global investors, and companies engaged in post‑conflict arbitration. The F4 claims: Quantifying the unquantifiable Prior to the 1990s, mechanisms in international law for war reparations overwhelmingly favoured property loss, foregone earnings, and bodily injury. The natural world was commonly treated as a mute, non-compensable victim of armed hostilities...
Understanding the farming business as a business Many farms still use long-standing structures that arose by habit, not strategy. Sole traders, informal partnerships and outdated partnership deeds are common. While once effective, such setups can cause major issues around succession, tax planning and involving the next generation. A corporate team can take a fresh, business-led view of the farm, asking: Who owns the land and other critical assets? Who manages daily operations? Who carries the risk and who enjoys the return? What is the enduring plan for succession? From this review, the team can confirm whether the current setup is fit for purpose or if an alternative — for example an updated partnership agreement, a company, a limited liability partnership, or a blended model — would better meet the family’s aims. Tax efficiency through joined-up advice Tax sits at the centre of most
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Re X and Y [2025] EWCA Civ 2 What are the practical implications of this case? This judgment carries considerable weight: the Court of Appeal determined that the court lacks power to annul or rescind an adoption order on welfare grounds, regardless of how persuasive the circumstances appear. The court stated that a poor outcome after adoption, and the fact that undoing the order would benefit the adoptee, whether minor or adult, does not justify the judiciary creating a remedy that Parliament has deliberately withheld. It underscores that adoption orders are transformative in nature, possess a unique finality, and are designed to be permanent, enduring for life as though the child were born to the adopter. The ruling aligns entirely with the strong policy position that adoption effects a total, lifelong and irrevocable transfer of parental status. However, where there have been...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Relationship breakdown Financial provision Private children Public children International children Enforcement Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content Useful information Practice and procedure Family Procedure Rule Committee meeting minutes The Family Procedure Rule Committee has published the official minutes of its meeting held on 9 December 2024. Arbitration Bill approved and now pending Royal Assent The UK Parliament has completed its consideration of the Arbitration Bill in full. Scrutiny by the committee of the whole House of Commons resulted in no amendments whatsoever. Thereafter, the Bill received its third reading and passed without alteration. The Arbitration Bill now formally awaits Royal Assent. See: LNB News 12/02/2025 46. Relationship breakdown Existence of a marriage ( Ms Z v Mr Z) In Ms Z v Mr Z [2025] EWHC 276 ( Fam), the parties were married in accordance with Islamic customs on 4 August 1999. They were first cousins, and each had earlier marriages that had ended in...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Relationship breakdown Public children Private children Financial provision International children Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content Useful information Practice and procedure Family Justice Council Bridget Lindley memorial lecture HHJ Khatun Sapnara will deliver the Bridget Lindley memorial lecture on 12 March 2025. This online lecture forms part of the Family Justice Council’s annual interdisciplinary conference, taking place in Birmingham. The theme this year is ‘ Diversity and Inclusion in the Family Justice System: Promoting Best Practice in Decision Making’... Relationship breakdown HMCTS adds ability for a solicitor to remove themselves as representing a party in divorce applications HM Courts and Tribunals Service has enabled My HMCTS to let a solicitor end their representation in divorce matters. Choose ‘stop representing client’ from the next step drop-down to use the feature, which launched on 10...
KL v BA [2025] EWHC 102 ( Fam) What are the practical implications of this case? The ruling confirms that solely biological fathers may acquire parental responsibility for a child under Ch A 1989, s 4(1)(a). Where a man is entered on a child’s birth certificate (and would ordinarily have gained parental responsibility only via Ch A 1989, s 4(1)(a)), but it is subsequently determined that he is not the child’s biological father, his parental responsibility is void ab initio; in other words, it never existed, so no order is required to remove parental responsibility. The judgment therefore underscores the centrality of a genetic connection between a father and a child when assessing parental responsibility. Accordingly, any parental responsibility believed to arise from registration alone falls away automatically, with no requirement for a further order to remove it at all......
The Father ( Appellant) v Worcestershire County Council ( Respondent) [2025] UKSC 1 What are the practical implications of this case? Acting without legal representation, the father pursued his case to the Supreme Court, which entertained his submissions and examined the legal position that would have applied had the children been confined rather than living in foster care. The Court heard him in full and addressed the framework relevant to situations where children would, in fact, have been deprived of liberty rather than cared for by foster families. Its status as guidance will assist judges dealing with analogous cases in practice. The decision offers guidance for family courts facing comparable applications and, by extension, informs deprivation of liberty matters. On whether care orders issued by the High Court or the Family Court are susceptible to judicial review, the Supreme Court observed that an order of the High...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Private children International children Financial provision Lex Talk®Family: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts New content Updated content New Q& As Useful information Practice and procedure Family court judges’ anonymisation reversed by Court of Appeal ( Tickle & Summers v BBC and others) UK media coverage remains centred on the killing of ten-year-old Sara Sharif by her father and step-mother. In its aftermath, reporters Louise Tickle and Hannah Summers, together with leading news organisations, applied for disclosure of materials and information from earlier Children Act 1989 ( Ch A 1989) proceedings relating to Sara and her brothers and sisters, seeking, among other things, the identities of the judges involved. Although none of those judges had asked to remain anonymous, Mr Justice Williams’ disclosure order...
Family court judges’ anonymisation overturned by the Court of Appeal ( Tickle & Summers v BBC and others) — Tickle & Summers v BBC and others [2025] EWCA Civ 42 What are the practical implications of this case? Save in only the narrowest of situations, judges sitting in the family court — including magistrates, district and circuit judges (para [54]) — should be identified by name, even where hearings are held in private. This development will be of particular note to practitioners who also sit as fee‑paid members of the judiciary. There is no distinct ‘shielded justice environment’ for family proceedings; the open justice principle applies across civil, criminal and family jurisdictions (para [45]). Although Ch A 1989, s 97 and section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 impose limits on what may and may not be reported, those statutory...
In this issue Practice and procedure Private children Public children Financial provision Costs Medical treatment Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content Useful information Practice and procedure Courts and Tribunals: Judiciary publishes fresh practice guidance on intermediaries, lay advocates and cognitive assessments in the Family Court The President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew Mc Farlane, has issued new guidance addressing the deployment of intermediaries, lay advocates and cognitive assessments in family cases. Applications seeking such assessments must justify necessity, with a clear focus that intermediaries are only to be engaged where indispensable to secure fair participation, and seldom across whole hearings. The guidance sets out the function of intermediaries under the Family Procedure Rules 2010 ( FPR 2010), SI 2010/2955, Pt 3A, explains the steps for preliminary and cognitive assessments, and underlines that although informative, assessment outcomes are not conclusive. The discretion to appoint an intermediary rests with the judge. The aim is to...
Court of Protection issues anticipatory declarations on care where capacity fluctuates ( Oldham MBC v KZ & Others) Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council v KZ (by his litigation friend the Official Solicitor) and others [2024] EWCOP 72 What are the practical implications of this case? The Court of Protection has, once more, considered how best to respond when an individual is assessed as having ‘fluctuating capacity’. Under section 2(1) of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 ( MCA 2005), capacity is decision-specific and must be evaluated at the point the decision is taken. Fluctuation in capacity creates practical challenges. For instance, a care provider may need, in demanding circumstances, to judge whether a significant choice about care has been made with capacity. Where distinct periods of incapacity can be identified, the courts have been prepared to make anticipatory declarations authorising future measures, eg a care plan, which would...
Hirachand ( Appellant) v Hirachand and another ( Respondents) [2024] UKSC 43 What are the practical implications of this case? Applications under the I( PFD) A 1975 are frequently issued by individuals requiring financial support. On that basis, numerous claimants lack the funds to meet continuing legal expenses personally from their own pockets. As a result, CFAs are commonly adopted and relied upon. In addition, determining a maintenance award involves evaluating a person’s financial position and requirements in detail. Success fees cannot be recovered from the opposing party under section 58A of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. Yet they remain a monetary obligation of a winning claimant. Prior to this ruling, the success fee could be factored in when assessing financial need and, in turn, when fixing the substantive award. That approach no longer applies, so successful parties must satisfy the success fee from their own...
Re XY (withdrawal of treatment) [2024] EWCA Civ 1466 What are the practical implications of this case? Information concerning an individual’s wishes and feelings linked to their faith must be assessed in the context of their actual medical situation and circumstances. Judges are entitled to weigh the family’s accounts of P’s wishes and feelings against the backdrop of the family’s own beliefs, including as to their beliefs about the efficacy of treatment and the prospect of recovery. Compliance with the principles set out in the Mental Capacity Act 2005 ( MCA 2005) and the Code of Practice, together with the professional guidance available to doctors, is sufficient to meet the procedural safeguards required by Articles 2, 3 and 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights ( ECHR). What was the background? XY, aged 54, developed a prolonged disorder of consciousness following two cardiac arrests. She had...
In this issue: Relationship breakdown Financial provision Public children International jurisdiction International children Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content Useful information Relationship breakdown Imputing Parliament’s intention as to void or voidable divorce orders ( Lord Chancellor v 79 Divorced Couples) In The Lord Chancellor v 79 Divorced Couples [2024] EWHC 3211 ( Fam), the Lord Chancellor sought declarations, under section 55(1)(c) of the Family Law Act 1986 and the court’s inherent jurisdiction, across 79 divorce proceedings that the marriages had ended on the dates the final orders were made. The step was prompted by a fault in the online court portal which permitted applicants to issue for divorce a day earlier than the statute allows; section 3 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 requires that no petition is filed until one full year has elapsed from the date of...
Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council v Cheshire East Borough Council and others [2024] EWCA Civ 1565 What are the practical implications of this case? It was observed in the judgment that much of the appeal revisited issues already addressed. Nonetheless, fresh matters were examined at paras [48] and [49] and at paras [64]–[73], concerning the construction of ‘institution’ in section 105(6) of the Children Act 1989 ( Ch A 1989). Distinct from the appeal grounds, the court also set out helpful ‘points of general application’ drawn from earlier authorities on designation (para [46]). The court stopped short of a conclusive ruling on whether a hospital is an institution, but the clear inference was that it is not. That approach aligns with the observations of Lord Justice Thorpe in C ( A Child) v Plymouth County Council [2000] 1 FLR 875. Cobb J further recorded that Ch A...
The Lord Chancellor v 79 Divorced Couples [2024] EWHC 3211 ( Fam) What are the practical implications of this case? The Divorce, Dissolution and Separation Act 2020 ( DDSA 2020) took effect on 6 April 2022, delivering significant reforms to the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. Yet section 3 of the MCA 1973 survived unchanged, providing that an application for a divorce order cannot be issued until one year has elapsed from the date of the marriage. This judgment underscores the long-established minimum interval before issuing proceedings, namely one year and one day. By way of illustration, spouses who wed on 1 April 2025 cannot lodge a divorce application before 2 April 2026. Although the DDSA 2020 brought wide changes, this restriction was retained and remains operative. The point serves as a clear prompt for practitioners to advise accurately on the timetable for divorce;...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Relationship breakdown Financial provision Daily and weekly news alerts New content Updated content New Q& A Useful information Practice and procedure Transparency in the Family Court and Financial Remedies Court By the end of January 2025, both transparency pilots are being rolled out nationwide. From 27 January 2025, journalists and legal bloggers may cover every case falling within the Family Court transparency reporting pilot. Where a transparency order is made, journalists may set out what they witness and hear whilst present in the Family Court. The default position is that legal bloggers can report on Family Court matters, and a transparency order—preserving the anonymity of children and the family—will be granted unless there is a valid reason to refuse one. Speaking to parties and using quotations from them is allowed, and,...
ON v ON [2024] EWFC 379 What are the practical implications of this case? The standout consequence of this decision is the firm direction it sets on parties’ duties of disclosure within arbitration. Arbitration continues to be appealing (use of specialist arbitrators, a markedly swifter, more bespoke process, etc), and the ruling enables advisers to state unequivocally that the requirement of full and frank disclosure endures up until the arbitral award is turned into a court order. That message carries wide weight, in light of the family courts’ renewed focus on non-court dispute resolution and the growing uptake of arbitration. Its effect will be felt widely, dovetailing with the courts’ focus on non-court routes and arbitration’s rising use across family practice. The decision also underlines the risk of advancing implausible grounds when seeking to set aside an arbitral award. Although the wife...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Relationship breakdown Financial provision Private children Public children International children Lex Talk®Family: a Lexis®Nexis community Daily and weekly news alerts Updated content Useful information Practice and procedure Master of the Rolls announces update to solicitors’ guideline hourly rates An update to solicitors’ guideline hourly rates has been confirmed by the Master of the Rolls. These figures are used for the summary assessment of court costs in England and Wales. The revision sets new amounts across all grades ( A to D) and geographical bands, including London 1-3 and National 1-2. Levels vary according to the fee earner’s experience and location, with the highest rate being £566 per hour for Grade A solicitors in London 1. This change ensures the guideline rates reflect present market conditions and support fair cost...
In this issue: Practice and procedure Public children Private children Relationship breakdown Financial provision International children Daily and weekly news alerts Family Highlights 2024/2025 New content Updated content Useful information This is our final Weekly Highlights of 2024. The first Weekly Highlights of 2025 will appear on 9 January 2025 and be emailed to customers on 10 January 2025. For guidance on staying abreast of developments each day and each week, see the ‘ Daily and weekly news alerts’ section. From the whole Family team, we wish you a joyful festive season and a happy new year. Practice and procedure Law Commission scoping paper on financial remedies on divorce and dissolution. The Law Commission has released a scoping paper on financial remedies following divorce and dissolution. The central issue for the project was whether the current law ‘provides a cohesive framework in which parties to a divorce or dissolution can expect fair and...
This News Analysis reviews OPRC minutes spanning November 2023 through to November 2024. All minutes can be found here. Civil workstreams At its November 2023 meeting, the OPRC set out four key workstreams: fixed recoverable costs; the Renters ( Reform) Bill; enforcement; and integrated small claims mediation for claims up to £10,000. Each area has seen movement over the past year. Mo J proposals on the fixed recoverable costs regime, arising from the fixed costs consultation, were adopted via core CPR updates in April 2024 and October 2024. For more detail, see: Tracker— Fixed costs reforms. The Renters ( Reform) Bill lapsed on 30 May 2024 when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the 2024 General Election and therefore did not obtain Royal Assent. A Renters’ Rights Bill, with comparable objectives, is now before Parliament—see: LNB News 11/09/2024 19— MHCLG announces Renters’ Rights Bill. The Courts and...
Financial remedies on divorce and dissolution— A scoping report What does the Law Commission do? The Law Commission is an independent statutory body with a duty, shared with the Scottish Law Commission, under section 3(1) of the Law Commissions Act 1965, to keep the law within its remit under regular review, with a view to its systematic development and reform. This remit covers all areas of law with which each Commission is concerned. Its tasks include, in particular, codifying the relevant law, removing anomalies, repealing obsolete and unnecessary enactments, reducing the number of separate enactments, and, more generally, simplifying and modernising the law. In carrying out this function, the Law Commission consults widely and accepts referrals from individual government departments, in order to devise a programme of law reform. That programme is then submitted to the Lord Chancellor for approval before any work...
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When evaluating a general damages claim, the practitioner ought initially to refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG)...
This Practice Note This Practice Note reviews mechanisms used in settling litigation. A Tomlin order consists of a consent order paired with a schedule. It operates to stay proceedings on terms that have been agreed. The provisions contained in the schedule may remain confidential. This Practice Note describes the scope of confidentiality attaching to the schedule and sets out how it differs from a standard consent order. Sample wording for a Tomlin order is included, alongside links to precedents, as well as guidance on court approval. It also addresses varying, setting aside and enforcing a Tomlin order, including the considerations the court will take into account when handling applications for each. Further guidance is provided on interpreting and applying the relevant provisions of the CPR; however, some courts and divisions impose very specific requirements for both drafting and approval, and for approaching the schedule and confidentiality issues. Accordingly, you must consider the particular rules and court guide provisions in the forum where your claim is proceeding when drawing up the Tomlin order...
Date [ date ] Parties [ name of Landlord ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Landlord) [ name of Tenant ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Tenant) [ [ name of Guarantor ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Guarantor) ] [ [ name of Mortgagee ] [ of OR incorporated in England and Wales (company registration number [ number ]) with its registered office at ] [ address ] (Mortgagee) ] Definitions Within this Deed, the terms below shall be interpreted as follows: [ Annual Rent • the annual sum reserved under the Lease; ] [ Insurance Rent • the Tenant’s share of the Landlord’s costs of insuring the Property (as set out in the Lease); ] Lease • the lease of the Property dated [ date ], entered into between (1) [ the Landlord OR [ name ...
I, [ name ], of [ address ], solemnly and sincerely state that: [ Matters to be verified, set out in numbered paragraphs ] I make this solemn statement in good conscience, believing it to be true, and pursuant to the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835. DECLARED at [ details ] this [ day ] day of [ month and year ] Before me ................................................................................ [ signature of the person before whom the declaration is made ] A [ commissioner for oaths OR [ solicitor OR [ insert other qualification ] ] authorised to administer oaths ]...
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