Family law

In family proceedings, the court has a discretion whether to hear evidence in relation to disputed matters of fact with a view to determining them.

Where a judge is considering, whether to abort a pre-arranged fact-finding hearing, he should ask whether any fresh, or freshly discovered, circumstances should lead him to depart from the earlier decision and should take account of the costs already incurred and the degree to which a refusal at that stage to conduct the hearing would waste them, together with any special features present in the case.

The fact that certain material need not be considered before a conclusion is reached that the court has power to make a care order does not support a conclusion that it does not need to be considered before deciding whether the optimum outcome for the children is to make such an order.