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Family justice redefined? Family justice after reform

© Copyright LexisNexis 2025. All rights reserved.
Date:10 APR 2014

The Right Honourable Lord Justice Ryder:

This paper looks at what Ryder LJ describes as the 'change programme' aimed at improving the family justice system both structurally and administratively. It highlights the importance of proportionality especially so when considering placing a child for adoption without the consent of the parents; and the recent Court of Appeal jurisprudence post Re B (Care Proceedings: Appeal) [2013] UKSC 33  [2013] 2 FLR 1075 reported at August [2013] Fam Law 946.

This paper also addresses the serious question of how to provide a fair hearing in a resource limited environment and the particular difficulties that judges face when dealing with private law proceedings when neither party is represented and there is no access to publically funded testing for parentage and drink and drugs safety issues.  The paper goes on to conclude that the time has come in private law proceedings to develop an inquisitorial process: one that is fair proportionate to the issues but directed...

Read the full article here.

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