header-logo header-logo

LiPs: a perfect storm in the divorce courts?

09 March 2017 / Tim Jones , Shlomit Glaser
Issue: 7737 / Categories: Features , Divorce , Family
printer mail-detail
nlj_7737_glaserjones

Iqbal v Iqbal provides a salutary example of the consequences that can occur in the absence of legal representation, as Shlomit Glaser & Tim Jones report

  • Condemning a divorce settlement for lack of process.
  • The Family Procedure Rules and well-known basic legal principles of evidence and natural justice had not been followed.

The decision of the Court of Appeal in Iqbal v Iqbal [2017] EWCA Civ 19 has attracted some media attention for its setting aside of a substantial divorce settlement, valued in the region of £3.5m. The Court of Appeal’s excoriating criticism of the way the case had been dealt with in the lower courts has invited colourful accounts. It is self-evident something has gone wrong when financial remedy proceedings initiated in July 2010 are reset to that starting position in January 2017. It almost invites the conclusion that the lower courts are responsible for the settlement being “thrown out” and that “improvements” need to be put in place.

There are two strands to the case. One relates

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Excello Law—five appointments

Excello Law—five appointments

Fee-share firm expands across key practice areas with senior appointments

Irwin Mitchell—Grace Morahan

Irwin Mitchell—Grace Morahan

International divorce team welcomes new hire

Switalskis—14 trainee solicitors

Switalskis—14 trainee solicitors

Firm welcomes largest training cohort in its history

NEWS
Small law firms want to embrace technology but feel lost in a maze of jargon, costs and compliance fears, writes Aisling O’Connell of the Solicitors Regulation Authority in this week's NLJ
Artificial intelligence may be revolutionising the law, but its misuse could wreck cases and careers, warns Clare Arthurs of Penningtons Manches Cooper in this week's NLJ
Bea Rossetto of the National Pro Bono Centre makes the case for ‘General Practice Pro Bono’—using core legal skills to deliver life-changing support, without the need for niche expertise—in this week's NLJ
Charlie Mercer and Astrid Gillam of Stewarts crunch the numbers on civil fraud claims in the English courts, in this week's NLJ. New data shows civil fraud claims rising steadily since 2014, with the King’s Bench Division overtaking the Commercial Court as the forum of choice for lower-value disputes
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve reports on Haynes v Thomson, the first judicial application of the Supreme Court’s For Women Scotland ruling in a discrimination claim, in this week's NLJ
back-to-top-scroll