W (A Child)
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
- LORD JUSTICE LAWS
- LORD JUSTICE RYDER
- LORD JUSTICE UNDERHILL
Areas of Law
- Family Law
- Human Rights Law
2014
COURT OF APPEAL (CRIMINAL DIVISION)
United Kingdom
CORAM
AI Generated Summary
A mother's appeal against an interim care order under section 38(1) of the Children Act 1989 was dismissed. The order led to the removal of her eight-year-old daughter due to emotional harm and risk to psychological safety caused by the mother's behavior. The court determined the interim care order was fair and proportionate, referencing procedural fairness and proportionality principles.
Judgment
Lord Justice Ryder:
This is a mother’s appeal against an interim care order made under section 38(1) of the Children Act 1989 [CA 1989] by His Honour Judge Cardinal sitting as a judge of the High Court in Birmingham which had the effect of approving the immediate removal of the mother's eight year old daughter from her care. The essence of the appeal is that the order was procedurally unfair and wrong. The mother had also complained that the judge was plainly wrong in his decision on the facts but after careful consideration at an oral hearing on 22 January 2014, permission to appeal the findings of fact was refused.
At the time the order was made the proceedings were private law children proceedings brought under the CA 1989. They were between the child’s mother and the child’s father. The issue between the parties was the father’s contact with his daughter. The child had been joined as a party to the proceedings and was represented by a children’s guardian in accordance with rule 16.4 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 [FPR 2010]. The jurisdiction to make an interim care order in this case was available to the judge because of a direction made in the proceedings under section 37(1) CA 1989 for an investigation by the local authority of the child’s circumstances. Since the judge’s order the local authority have issued public law children (care) proceedings within which a further interim care order has been made on the basis that the findings of fact and value judgments made give rise to ‘reasonable grounds for believing that (the) circumstances with respect to the child are as mentioned in section 31(2)’ CA 1989. In other words the jurisdictional threshold for an interim care order was satisfied by Judge Cardinal’s determination.
On 10 February 2014 the local authority into whose care the child was received was given permission to intervene in the appeal. The father, the children's guardian on behalf of the child and the local authority oppose the appeal.
The child was born on 3 October 2005 and until the order complained of had lived with her mother all her life. She has had contact with her father in accordance with orders made by the court. At a finding of fact hearing in December 2010 the court concluded that the child had been sexually abused by her paternal grandfather. There was then a further finding of fact hearing before Judge Cardinal that immediately preceded the child’s removal on 11 November 2013 and which dealt with furthe