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Parent and child – Adoption. Court of Session: Refusing an appeal by the natural father of a child against a sheriff's decision to grant a local authority's application for a permanence order with authority to adopt, the court rejected grounds of appeal contending that before making a permanence order the sheriff had failed to have regard to the appellant's capacity to look after the child; that he was not entitled to conclude on the facts of case that no order less than adoption would suffice, or that adoption was necessary rather than merely desirable or reasonable; and that he had failed to have regard to his duty to respect the family life of the appellant and the child.
Parent and child – Adoption. Court of Session: Refusing an appeal by the natural father of a child against a sheriff's decision to grant a local authority's application for a permanence order with authority to adopt, the court rejected grounds of appeal contending that before making a permanence order the sheriff had failed to have regard to the appellant's capacity to look after the child; that he was not entitled to conclude on the facts of case that no order less than adoption would suffice, or that adoption was necessary rather than merely desirable or reasonable; and that he had failed to have regard to his duty to respect the family life of the appellant and the child.
The age of criminal responsibility, extreme weather and conflict resolution – plus, new protocol for reporting bullying at the Bar
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Save the Children UK is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
Solicitor General Ellie Reeves KC MP discusses her decade as a trade union and employment law barrister, the demands of life as a Law Officer and the number one priority shaping her work. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
A decade of reviews and research has disrupted accepted thinking in the search for causality. Suicides following abuse have overtaken domestic homicides. Is the law keeping up? Professor Susan Edwards KC (Hon) examines recent cases and the obstacles to successful prosecution
At least not that way, says Richard Paige