Kent County Council, Re B (A Child) v the Mother & Ors [2004] EWHC 411 (Fam) (19 March 2004)

Kent County Council, Re B (A Child) v the Mother & Ors [2004] EWHC 411 (Fam) (19 March 2004)

The court held that the mother and her solicitor had committed contempts of court by disclosing documents and information from the care proceedings without leave, in breach of section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960. However, the court granted the mother leave to disclose specified documents to the General Medical Council for the purpose of pursuing her complaint, subject to strict anonymisation to protect the child. The court refused leave for general disclosure into the public domain of documents or facts that would risk identifying the child, the local authority, or Dr Y, and imposed a contra mundum injunction prohibiting publication of information likely to identify the...

Citation
[2004] EWHC 411 (Fam)
Parties
Applicant: Kent County Council; First Respondent: The mother; Second Respondent: The father; Third Respondent: B (by her Children's Guardian); Other Interested Party: Ms Sarah Harman; Other Interested Party: Dr Y; Other Interested Party: British Broadcasting Corporation
Jurisdiction
England and Wales
Judgment Date
19 March 2004
Procedural Posture
Care Proceedings Under the Children Act 1989 / Application for Leave to Disclose Documents and Information From Family Proceedings
Outcome
Application granted in part; injunctions and mandatory orders made; reporting restrictions imposed.
Legal Topics
Disclosure of Documents, Confidentiality in Family Proceedings, Contempt Under Administration of Justice Act 1960, Children Act 1989 Proceedings, Media Reporting Restrictions
Family Law Contempt of Court Media Law Disclosure of Documents Confidentiality in Family Proceedings Contempt Under Administration of Justice Act 1960 Children Act 1989 Proceedings Media Reporting Restrictions

Case Brief

Summary, issues, holding and outcome

More case intelligence is available

Unlock the full research layer for this judgment.

Full judgment text Downloadable case file Legal principles 5 Authorities cited 21 Party arguments 2
Sign in to unlock

Parties

Kent County Council

Applicant

The mother

First Respondent

The father

Second Respondent

B (by her Children's Guardian)

Third Respondent

Ms Sarah Harman

Other Interested Party

Dr Y

Other Interested Party

British Broadcasting Corporation

Other Interested Party

Procedural Posture

Care Proceedings Under the Children Act 1989 / Application for Leave to Disclose Documents and Information From Family Proceedings

Legal Issues

  1. 1 Whether the mother and her solicitor committed contempt of court by disclosing documents from family proceedings without leave
  2. 2 Whether the mother should be granted leave to disclose specified documents to the General Medical Council and into the public domain
  3. 3 Scope of permissible disclosure from family proceedings under section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960 and rule 4.23 of the Family Proceedings Rules 1991

Ratio Decidendi

The court held that the mother and her solicitor had committed contempts of court by disclosing documents and information from the care proceedings without leave, in breach of section 12 of the Administration of Justice Act 1960. However, the court granted the mother leave to disclose specified documents to the General Medical Council for the purpose of pursuing her complaint, subject to strict anonymisation to protect the child. The court refused leave for general disclosure into the public domain of documents or facts that would risk identifying the child, the local authority, or Dr Y, and imposed a contra mundum injunction prohibiting publication of information likely to identify the...

Court Disposition

Application granted in part; injunctions and mandatory orders made; reporting restrictions imposed.

Orders

  • Leave granted to the mother to disclose specified documents to the General Medical Council for the purpose of pursuing her complaint, subject to anonymisation to protect the child.
  • Contra mundum injunction imposed prohibiting publication of information likely to identify the child.