Charlotte Jeffery reports on the important role of CAFCASS officers in final judgments
In the case of Re R (A Child) [2009] EWCA Civ 445, [2009] All ER (D) 206 (May) the Court of Appeal considered whether the first instance judge had erred in his treatment of the wishes of the child and whether he was wrong in law to reject the recommendation of the CAFCASS (Children and Family Court Advisory Support Service) officer without hearing evidence from the reporting officer.
Background
The case concerned an application for a residence order by the father of the child. The mother and father were in a relationship for approximately three years but separated when their son was about two years old. After the separation, the child (L) continued to live with his mother. The father remarried and had another child with his new wife. The mother had a difficult time after the separation, including the suicide of a close friend and the breakdown of a subsequent relationship. She began drinking heavily and in March 2008 she admitted to L’s father that she was unable to cope
