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Kindertotenlieder and the limits of transparency
Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder was on Radio 3 as I drove across London a week or so ago. It’s music I’ve always found nearly unbearable to listen to, because it’s about the death of children. The poems Mahler set to music were written by the 19th century German poet...
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Family Court Reporting Watch Roundup
Correcting, clarifying or commenting on media reports of family court cases Explaining or commenting on published Judgments of family court cases Highlighting other transparency news MEDIA (MIS)REPORTS OF FAMILY COURT CASES Wonder of mobile internet means I can deal...
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Re W (Wonder of mobile internet)
A curious article appeared in the Telegraph this week, headlined : Wonder of mobile internet means I can deal with cases on the move, top family court judge says It details the fact that Top Judges have opposable thumbs and are able to operate an iphone, just like...
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Can a spouse claim your abuse or injury damages on divorce?
The Family Court Reporting Watch has turned up the following – and we’ve been asked on twitter to explain this story too. The Mail Online reports ‘Abuse victim who was handed £175,000 compensation is ordered to give his ex-wife £100,000 of it as part of his divorce...
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What is happening now on the case of terminally ill baby Charlie Gard?
We've written about Charlie's case before. This is an update, focusing mainly on recent developments, and recent press coverage and social media comment on the case, much of which has been misleading or poorly informed. The current situation There was a further...
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Cooperation – Not Coercion in Foster to Adopt Placements
Our post on the FRG s20 report Cooperation or Coercion has prompted this guest post by John Simmonds, Director of Policy, Research and Development, CoramBAAF. We are expecting a guest post from Cathy Ashley at Family Rights Group in due course. The publication of the...
read moreTalking about adoption and voluntary foster care under section 20
The launch of a Family Rights Group report ‘Co-operation or Coercion? Children coming into the care system under voluntary arrangements’, has triggered discussion about the use of "section 20", the piece of law that allows a child to be placed voluntarily into foster...
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Supreme Court ruling on pension discrimination ensures equal treatment for same sex couples
Today’s Supreme Court decision in Walker v Innospec is a decision that will make a huge difference to married or civilly partnered gay and lesbian couples as they get older. It stops pension schemes from paying the surviving spouse of same-sex married or civilly...
read moreCo-operation or Coercion? Children coming into the care system under voluntary arrangements
On July 10th the Family Rights Group launched their report on the use of section 20 accommodation in England (section 76 in Wales - I will refer to section 20 throughout this post). We heard from Caroline Lynch, the author of the report and the Principal Legal Adviser...
read moreThe limits of family court influence over adult disputes about children Part II
There are three sides to every story - your side, my side and the truth. The judgment in Gibbs v Gibbs [2017] EWHC 1700 (Fam) was handed down on 29th June 2017. It raises some immediate and interesting questions about how the family courts deal with evidence and what...
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