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How to approach fact-finding hearings

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Sarah Hughes & Victoria Rylatt set out recent case law on fact-finding hearings in private children proceedings
  • The key cases this year which have addressed case management issues and the correct approach towards fact-finding hearings, as well as the guidance provided by the president of the Family Division to judges and magistrates on this subject.

There have been a number of judgments published this year which have grappled with difficult issues relating to fact-finding hearings. These have provided extremely useful guidance, building on the important decision in Re H-N and others [2021] EWCA Civ 448, [2021] All ER (D) 11 (Apr).

In this article (Part 1) we will examine the key cases which have addressed case management issues and the correct approach towards fact-finding hearings this year, together with the president’s recent guidance on the same. In Part 2 we will examine specific issues which have arisen in recent fact-finding hearings—namely the use of intimate images, publication and disclosure.

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