Family proceedings

The general practice of not awarding costs against a party, including a local authority, in the absence of reprehensible behaviour or an unreasonable stance ought not to be subject to an exception in the case of split hearings. In the context of care proceedings, it was not right to treat a local authority as in the same position as a civil litigant who raised an issue that was ultimately determined against him. If a local authority received information that a child had been subjected to, or was likely to be subjected to, serious harm it had a duty to investigate the report and, where there were reasonable grounds for believing that it might be well founded, to instigate care proceedings. Justice did not demand that the local authority responsible for placing the allegations before the court should ultimately be responsible for the legal costs of the person against whom the allegations were made. Further, the decision to have a split hearing could not affect the principles to be applied by the court when dealing with