Children in Court

Lynn Davis Solicitor Consultant to Davis Simmonds and Donaghey Kent. District Judge Crichton's article Listening to Children" [2006] Fam Law 849 raises the important issue of the role in proceedings of the very child whose welfare is in issue. At present there is no consistency of practice judges varying widely from those who like District Judge Crichton are willing to see and talk to children to those who will not even countenance the idea. The author says such an important issue should not be left to ad hoc decisions and it should be seen as part of the wider picture. It is time to decide where the child fits in care proceedings. The child is of course automatically a party to care proceedings. But what does party status mean? Normally being a party brings with it a right to see all the information before the court to put forward evidence to be represented and to attend court with the right or even presumption of giving oral evidence and being cross-examined. But the author says it seems...

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