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23 October 2014 / Ellen Lucas , Caroline Bowden , Kim Beatson
Issue: 7627 / Categories: Features , Legal aid focus , Family
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Family law in crisis: Pt II

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Kim Beatson, Caroline Bowden & Ellen Lucas chart the ongoing chaos in family law proceedings

In February 2014 we reported that cuts to legal aid had thrown family proceedings into chaos (see “Family law in crisis", 10 February 2014). Six months later we are sad to confirm that the chaos continues.

In March 2014 the case of VR (Children: Temporary Leave to Remove from Jurisdiction) [2014] EWHC 643 (Fam), [2014] All ER (D) 165 (Mar) came before His Honour Judge Clifford Bellamy, sitting as a deputy judge of the High Court. Here the mother sought the court’s permission to take the children (aged 7, 6, 4, and 3) on a trip to India to visit relatives. The Legal Aid Agency (LAA) refused to fund a report from an expert on Indian family law in spite of repeated directions that the court considered the report to be essential.

The LAA’s blatant disregard of the court case management directions was not the main point in the case but, nevertheless, Bellamy J directed that

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