Law digests: 6 & 13 January 2023

Child

Re N (a child) (instruction of expert) [2022] EWCA Civ 1588, [2022] All ER (D) 24 (Dec)

The Court of Appeal, Civil Division, dismissed the appellant’s appeal against a case management order under the Children Act 1989 (ChA 1989) relating to a boy, A, a minor. The order under appeal had permitted the parties to instruct a named independent social worker to carry out an assessment to assist the court to determine issues relating to child arrangements and education. The expert named in the order was a woman. The appellant father had proposed that the assessment should be carried out by a male social worker. He had argued that the order which had permitted the instruction of a female social worker was an infringement of his right to a fair hearing under art 6 and his right to manifest his religious beliefs under art 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court held, among other things, that the judge was fully entitled to reject the father’s human rights arguments.