SV (A MINOR), FV (A MINOR), GV (A MINOR) and PV and A Health and Social Care Trust and The Department of Finance and A Health and Social Care Trust and PV and SV, FV & GV (Minors) acting by the Official Solicitor as Guardian Ad Litem
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Humphreys J |
| Judgment Date | 09 March 2022 |
| Neutral Citation | [2022] NIFam 11 |
| Court | Family Division (Northern Ireland) |
| Date | 09 March 2022 |
1
Neutral Citation No: [2022] NIFam 11
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down
(subject to editorial corrections)*
Ref: HUM11784
Delivered: 09/03/2022
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN NORTHERN IRELAND
___________
FAMILY DIVISION
OFFICE OF CARE AND PROTECTION
IN THE MATTER OF THE CHILDREN (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1995
___________
Between:
SV (A MINOR)
FV (A MINOR)
GV (A MINOR)
Applicants
and
PV
First Respondent
and
A HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE TRUST
Second Respondent
and
THE DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE
Notice Party
And Between:
A HEALTH AND SOCIAL CARE TRUST
Applicant
and
PV
First Respondent
and
SV, FV & GV (MINORS) ACTING BY THE OFFICIAL SOLICITOR AS
GUARDIAN AD LITEM
Second Respondents
___________
2
Fiona Doherty QC and Niamh McCartney (instructed by McCoubrey Hinds) for the
Applicants
Noelle McGrenera QC and Kathy Downey (instructed by McIvor Farrell) for the first
Respondent
Claire MacKenzie (instructed by the Directorate of Legal Services) for the second
Respondent
Neasa Murnaghan QC and Nessa Fee (instructed by the Departmental Solicitor’s Office)
for the Notice Party
___________
HUMPHREYS J
This judgment has been anonymised to protect the identity of the applicants. I
have used the ciphers SV, FV and GV for the names of the applicants. These are
not their initials. Nothing can be published that will identify the applicants.
Introduction
[1] There are three separate applications before the court, one on behalf of each
minor applicant, to have their father’s parental responsibility terminated. These
applications have been brought by the minors in their own names which is
permissible under rule 6.3(1)(b) of the Family Proceedings Rules (Northern Ireland)
1996 where a solicitor considers that the minor is competent to give instructions.
[2] The second respondent Trust has also applied for declaratory relief, seeking
an order that it is not obliged to provide the first respondent with any information or
documentation in respect of the applicants and/or to involve him in any decision
making process with regard to the children.
[3] There are, in broad terms, three questions for the court’s determination:
(i) Are the existing statutory provisions in relation to the termination of
parental responsibility compatible with the ECHR?
(ii) If not, should the court make an order terminating the father’s parental
responsibility?
(iii) In either event, should the court grant relief to the Trust under its
inherent jurisdiction?
[4] Resolution of these issues has required navigation through an evolving area
of law and its application to the difficult circumstances in which this family finds
itself. I have derived very considerable assistance from the submissions of Counsel,
both oral and in writing, and am grateful to all the legal teams for the careful and
sensitive manner in which this case has been handled.
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