A family court judge has written a custody judgment in the format of a letter to a 14 year-old boy, known as ‘Sam’.
Mr Justice Peter Jackson, in Re A (Letter to a Young Person) [2017] EWFC 48, met privately with the boy, who wished to join his father in Scandinavia, against his mother and stepfather’s wishes.
Jackson J decided, however, that the boy should stay in the UK. He gave his decision in the form of a letter to Sam, which he read to the parents and gave to Sam’s solicitor to discuss with him when he came back from a school trip. In the judgment he writes, ‘This case is about you and your future, so I write this letter as a way of giving my decision to you and your parents.’ He sets out his reasoning, stating that he was impressed with Sam’s evidence but feels they are significantly formed by loyalty to his father.
Jackson J went on to say that ‘there needs to be an end to proceedings of this sort. They have been extremely stressful for everyone. This is the fifth case there has been about you and, unless something pretty extraordinary happens, it should be the last.’
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