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I can see clearly

11 November 2016 / David Burrows
Issue: 7722 / Categories: Features , Family
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David Burrows reports on clarity, fairness & the judgment summons procedure

  • Precedent and the common law apply to family proceedings as to any other case law.

  • The role of precedent, predictability, clarity and fairness in judgment summons procedures under Debtors Act 1869, s 5.

  • Committal proceedings: proof to the criminal standard and subject to European Convention 1950, Art 6(3).

Like any proceedings in an English court, family proceedings are governed by the rule of law. This assumes that court process is fair and governed by the common law. For example, in Richardson v Richardson [2011] EWCA Civ 79, [2011] All ER (D) 86 (Feb) Sir James Munby P—then Munby LJ—said: “The Family Division is part of the High Court. It is not some legal Alsatia [a lawless part of London just to the west of the City of London (alongside Blackfriars and Fleet Street), so named in the early 17th century when the Thirty Years War was raging in Alsace] where the common law and equity do not apply. The

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

HFW—Guy Marrison

HFW—Guy Marrison

Global aviation disputes practice boosted by London partner hire

Morrison Foerster—Jenny Galloway & Luke Rowland

Morrison Foerster—Jenny Galloway & Luke Rowland

Firm grows London practice with two partner promotions

Hogan Lovells—David Hansom

Hogan Lovells—David Hansom

Government contracts and procurement practice expands with London partner hire

NEWS
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
A construction defect claim in the Court of Appeal offers a sharp lesson in pleading discipline. In his latest 'Civil way' column for NLJ, Stephen Gold explains how a catastrophically drafted schedule of loss derailed otherwise viable claims. Across the areas explored in this week's column, the message is consistent: clarity, economy and proper pleading matter more than ever
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