LRK V AG Sheriff Appeal Court 2021

I had recently written in February in regard to the Court of Session decision in M V C on the requirement of the court to obtain the views of a child in proceeding seeking a section 11 order, being an order for residence or contact to a child.

The views of the child, rights of a child and a child centred approach to court proceedings remains very much at the forefront. As an accredited specialist in child law and appointed child welfare reporter, I am acutely aware of the impact that court proceedings have on children.

The Sheriff Appeal court has very recently overturned a decision made where the views of a child were not obtained, and the court had failed to consider the requirement to protect the child from abuse in a case where there was a documented history of domestic abuse by one parent against the other.

LRK V AF, Sheriff Appeal Court 2021 SAC (Civ) 1 is a helpful review of the law including the United Nations Convention on the rights of the child and recent case law.