Adoption

The general rule was that any application by a local authority asking the court to exercise its inherent jurisdiction in order to revoke a freeing order should be made in the High Court on notice to the former parents including those former parents who had made a declaration under s 18(6) the Adoption Act 1976. Exceptionally an application might be made without notice. When making such an application the local authority had to file a statement in support giving reasons for seeking a without notice order by reference inter alia to the established principles in relation to without notice applications. Similarly any application to withhold any of the information, which would otherwise be included within the application had to be made subject to principles set out in Re (A Child) [2012] All ER (D) 96 (Dec) and be accompanied by a statement in support of the application. Good practice would require that, if they could be traced, the former parents should