Blog
Key takeaways from the Home Secretary’s Statement on Asylum Reforms: 30-months permission to stay for new claims and transitional arrangements for pending cases
Oliver Oldman
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.
21 July 2016
Global and modern families not bound by borders – themes from the Culture, Dispute Resolution & the Modernised Family conference
I recently attended the conference “Culture, Dispute Resolution and the Modernised Family” organised by the International Centre for Family Law, Policy and Practice (‘the Centre’). The triennial conference was a truly international event, with 31 jurisdictions represented in total.
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.
28 June 2016
Divorce in the digital age - avoiding the pitfalls of social media
Social media undeniably plays a huge part in our lives today. At the last count, I had six apps on my phone, four of which I use regularly to stay “connected” and all of which contribute to my digital footprint. Social media is a normal (some may say obsessive) part of most people’s modern day life.
Given that, it is hardly surprising that issues relating to social media arise in family cases. An increasing number of divorce petitions based on one party’s unreasonable behaviour now refer to social media, and the impact of social media doesn’t stop there. For many, social media offers a way to help them cope with marital breakdown through posts of support by online friends and followers. However it is used, it can prove to be a useful source of evidence in many cases and those using online profiles should be wary of the potential pitfalls.
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