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25 November 2022 / Sarah Hughes , Victoria Rylatt
Issue: 8004 / Categories: Features , Family , Child law , Procedure & practice
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How to approach fact-finding hearings

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Sarah Hughes & Victoria Rylatt set out recent case law on fact-finding hearings in private children proceedings
  • The key cases this year which have addressed case management issues and the correct approach towards fact-finding hearings, as well as the guidance provided by the president of the Family Division to judges and magistrates on this subject.

There have been a number of judgments published this year which have grappled with difficult issues relating to fact-finding hearings. These have provided extremely useful guidance, building on the important decision in Re H-N and others [2021] EWCA Civ 448, [2021] All ER (D) 11 (Apr).

In this article (Part 1) we will examine the key cases which have addressed case management issues and the correct approach towards fact-finding hearings this year, together with the president’s recent guidance on the same. In Part 2 we will examine specific issues which have arisen in recent fact-finding hearings—namely the use of intimate images, publication and disclosure.

K v K

K v K

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NEWS
The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive ruling on termination under the JCT Design & Build form. Writing in NLJ this week, Andrew Singer KC and Jonathan Ward, of Kings Chambers, analyse Providence Building Services v Hexagon Housing Association [2026] UKSC 1, which restores the first-instance decision and curbs contractors’ termination rights for repeated late payment
Secondments, disciplinary procedures and appeal chaos all feature in a quartet of recent rulings. Writing in NLJ this week, Ian Smith, barrister and emeritus professor of employment law at UEA, examines how established principles are being tested in modern disputes
The AI revolution is no longer a distant murmur—it’s at the client’s desk. Writing in NLJ this week, Peter Ambrose, CEO of The Partnership and Legalito, warns that the ‘AI chickens’ have ‘come home to roost’, transforming not just legal practice but the lawyer–client relationship itself
A High Court ruling involving the Longleat estate has exposed the fault line between modern family building and historic trust drafting. Writing in NLJ this week, Charlotte Coyle, director and family law expert at Freeths, examines Cator v Thynn [2026] EWHC 209 (Ch), where trustees sought approval to modernise trusts that retain pre-1970 definitions of ‘child’, ‘grandchild’ and ‘issue’
Fresh proposals to criminalise ‘nudification’ apps, prioritise cyberflashing and non-consensual intimate images, and even ban under-16s from social media have reignited debate over whether the Online Safety Act 2023 (OSA 2023) is fit for purpose. Writing in NLJ this week, Alexander Brown, head of technology, media and telecommunications, and Alexandra Webster, managing associate, Simmons & Simmons, caution against reactive law-making that could undermine the Act’s ‘risk-based and outcomes-focused’ design
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