What is a mother? The High Court confronted that fundamental question in the case of a trans man who was born female, in the biological sense, but who achieved full legal recognition of his masculine gender before becoming pregnant and giving birth to a child.
It is a sad fact that those who suffer from mental illness often have no insight into their condition and refuse to accept the protection the law affords them. That was certainly so in a High Court case concerning a once high-powered professional whose life
When children suffer injury, investigations follow and the finger of blame is frequently pointed at their parents. However, in one case, a young couple successfully challenged a judicial finding that they had conspired to cover up the circumstances in which their five-month-old daughter suffered a
One of the unsavoury features of many big money divorce cases is a reluctance to disclose financial information without which a fair outcome cannot be achieved. As a withering High Court ruling against a stubborn husband showed, however, family judges have all the powers they
The high emotion and antagonism sadly often arising from divorce can lead to lies being told in court. Family judges, however, have a panoply of powers to deal with such behaviour, as was shown by the case of a wife who sought to conceal the
Where children suffer unexplained injuries, parents frequently come under suspicion. However, a case in which a loving couple were cleared of all blame for a grave head injury suffered by their baby boy showed that judges will leave no stone unturned in uncovering the truth.
Those who believe that they can escape the financial consequences of divorce by dissolving their marriages abroad are mistaken. In a big money case on point, a businessman who obtained a divorce in Oman was nevertheless ordered by an English family judge to pay more
When parents lose children to adoption through no fault of their own it is unsurprising that they often wish to maintain contact with their offspring. However, as a Court of Appeal ruling showed, judges will almost never order such contact to take place without the
Operating on an unwilling patient is an assault and a deprivation of liberty and that is why doctors are careful to obtain unambiguous consent – but what happens where a patient lacks the mental capacity to give such consent? A High Court ruling provided a
The law recognises the important role that fathers play in children’s lives. However, the High Court has ruled in an important case that a father should have no contact with his baby son, whose birth arose from his sexual abuse of the child’s mother. The
