31 August 2016
Options in the English courts for ‘illegitimate’ children living in the UAE
It comes as a surprise to many that it is not possible to bring any action or present any agreement to a court in the UAE in respect of a child born out of marriage (sometimes rather unkindly referred to as ‘illegitimate children’). This fact was established in the proceedings leading to the recent Court of Appeal decision in Re B (Children) [2015] EWCA Civ 1302, which was a case involving the relocation of two children to the UAE from England.
12 August 2016
The case of Re Z: the pitfalls of informal surrogacy arrangements and the importance of transparency and trust
A recent case before the court provides a timely reminder of the pitfalls and difficulties which can arise as a result of informal surrogacy arrangements.
The case of Re Z [2016] EWFC 34 involved a baby boy (Z) born as a result of an informal surrogacy arrangement. The commissioning parents, a male same sex couple made contact with the eventual surrogate, X, via a Facebook forum. The commissioning parents and potential surrogate met only once and it was at this meeting that they presented X with a typed commercial surrogacy agreement they had found on the internet.
15 July 2016
Divorce en France ou en Angleterre : à qui la faute ?
Je dis souvent aux clients qui viennent me consulter en droit de la famille que nous avons beau être à seulement quelques dizaines de kilomètres de nos voisins français, dès qu’on aborde des questions de droit international privé de la famille, ce sont des années-lumière qui nous séparent. Le système anglais est souvent cité en exemple, les décisions judiciaires étant souvent généreuses sur le plan financier pour la partie faible. Dans d’autres domaines néanmoins, nous sommes nettement à la traîne.
Ce qui est frappant d’un système à l’autre, c’est l’écart qui peut exister entre le nombre de divorces, et les motifs du divorce. Dans les deux systèmes (en l’espèce l’Angleterre et le Pays de Galles par rapport à la France, à l’exclusion de l’Ecosse et de l’Irlande du Nord), à peu près le même nombre de gens divorcent chaque année.
15 July 2016
Divorce in France or in England – who plays the blame game?
I often tell family law clients that the English Channel may only be 30 miles wide but it may as well be 30,000 miles deep for le consentement. In England, we sometimes point to the generous financial provision for weaker financial parties as a sign of a civilised financial system. In other respects, we are not so far ahead.
A stark picture of differences in divorce procedures appears when you compare statistics on number of divorces and reasons for divorce. In both jurisdictions (referring to England and Wales vs. France, excluding Scotland and Northern Ireland) broadly similar numbers of people get divorced each year.
18 May 2016
Domicile in the Modern Family
In the Oxford Dictionary, ‘domicile’ is defined as “the country that a person treats as their permanent home, or lives in and has a substantial connection with”. However, the law in this area is far from straightforward, and as our customs and values change at an ever increasing pace within modern society, the question is to what extent the law is able to keep up.
