The High Court recently ruled that a local authority that removed a child from a couple with whom he had been placed for adoption and took him back into care did not breach the family’s human rights, even though the process by which it reached its decision was found to be unfair.
The child had been removed from the couple’s care after being placed in what the judge termed ‘a difficult and damaging situation’. This included anti-social behaviour and difficulties between the couple and their neighbours, although the couple were living elsewhere by the time the removal took place. The couple challenged the decision to remove the boy from their care, although they later dropped this challenge. However, they continued to pursue a claim that the local authority’s decision-making process had been unfair and had thus violated their rights under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act 1998 (the right to respect for private and family life).
The judge accepted that the child was removed from the couple sooner than would have been the case had the local authority followed a fair process. However, a number of factors led him to conclude that there was a high risk of further problems arising in the future. These included the couple’s lack of recognition of the risk of harm to the child caused by the problems they had encountered before they moved, a history of disputes between them and other people, and questions about the accuracy of assertions they had made. The judge concluded that the child would more likely than not have been removed from them in any event and no damages were therefore awarded to the couple.
Partner Note
DL & Anor v London Borough of Newham [2011] EWHC 1890 (Admin). See http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Admin/2011/1890.html.