Legal Update: Court Report - Father appeals denial of contact

Judge: Lady Justice Macur DBE, Lord Justice Underhill, Lord Justice Longmore

Location: The Court of Appeal

A father appealed against a decision that refused him contact with his three sons, aged three, five and seven. There had been significant domestic violence from the father to the mother, witnessed by the two older children. The court found that the father's failure to address the attitudes and behaviours which he displayed during the marriage and about which the mother had a genuine fear of him were, on the evidence before the judge, undoubtable. However, this did not justify the "drastic order" of refusing the father contact, unless she was of the view that any form of contact (however carefully supervised and controlled) would cause serious damage to the children. The court allowed the appeal, finding that:

• An order for no contact between a child and his non-residential parent is draconian. Domestic violence is not, in itself, a bar to direct contact, but must be assessed in light of the circumstances as a whole.
• The judge at first instance failed to adequately address why the children's safety and the management of the mother's anxieties could not be achieved under any circumstances of supervision.
• The order was not proportionate to the legitimate end which the judge pursued in ensuring the viability and stable placement of the children with their mother.