Kindertotenlieder and the limits of transparency

by Barbara Rich | Jul 23, 2017 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, FCReportingWatch, Notorious

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...

Cooperation – Not Coercion in Foster to Adopt Placements

by reporting watch team | Jul 17, 2017 | Comment

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...

The limits of family court influence over adult disputes about children Part II

by Sarah P | Jul 10, 2017 | Comment, FCReportingWatch

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...

Charlie Gard – What Did The European Court Actually Say and Why?

by Allan Norman | Jul 5, 2017 | Analysis, Cases, Comment, Explanation, FCReportingWatch, Notorious

As is now well-known, Charlie Gard’s case reached the end of its legal road last week, when the European Court of Human Rights decided that his case, and the case brought on his behalf by his parents, was inadmissible. At the same time, it decided that the...

Court of Protection announcement on holding its hearings in public

by Julie D | Jul 4, 2017 | Comment, Court of Protection, Transparency News, Trends

With many thanks to Barbara Rich for explaining what this all means for people involved in CoP cases. Context and background When the Court of Protection was established in its present form in 2007, the relevant court rules were written to cover two separate...

How (and why) to tweet from the ‘secret’ and ‘shadowy’ Court of Protection

by Guest Post | Jul 3, 2017 | Cases, Comment, Court of Protection

This is a guest post by Jenny Kitzinger, Professor at Cardiff University School of Journalism, Media and Cultural Studies, and Celia Kitzinger, Professor in Sociology, University of York, co-founders of the Coma and Disorders of Consciousness Research Centre @CDOCuk...