Case No. EWFC-85

1.I hand down this judgment following a 4-day fact-finding hearing. I heard evidence and submissions on days 1-3 and prepared most of this judgment on the 4th day. I have elected to prepare a written judgment, rather than deliver it orally, to ensure that the parents and also any professionals who will now report to the court or assist the parents with the arrangements for their children within these proceedings can have swift and comprehensive access to the court’s decisions and the reasons for those decisions. 2.This hearing has taken place as an attended hearing with the parents and their barristers present in court. Ms Morjaria represented the father and Ms Wood the mother. I heard oral evidence from both parents. A social worker from Local Authority B, ‘Social Worker B’, also attended the court building to give her evidence. Two witnesses attended remotely by CVP link: Mr C (a friend of the mother) and ‘Social Worker A’ (a social worker with the Local Authority A). By agreement, I read a witness statement from Mr D, a religious minister, and neither parent sought to call him to court to answer questions. 3.I have read a bundle of documents comprising 350 pages and including witness statements, social work assessments and police disclosure. I have listened to 3 short audio recordings and received substantially agreed transcripts of those recordings, prepared by the mother. I also requested the minutes of an Initial Child Protection Conference on 30 April 2020 and have added these to my bundle. 4.On day 1 of the hearing I enquired of counsel whether either parent sought special measures to help them to participate fully in the proceedings and give their best evidence, bearing in mind the ongoing duty on the court pursuant to FPR 3A, PD3AA and section 63 of the Domestic Abuse Act 2021. Neither parent sought any such special measures.5.At the centre of these proceedings are two children whom I will call Xavier and Yasmin (not their real names). Xavier is 8 (DOB April 2014) and Yasmin is 6 (DOB February 2016). The children’s father, GF last spent time with them on 10 August 2019. Since 11 August 2019 their mother, GM, and the children have lived away from the family home, initially in a refuge in the area of Local Authority A and then in a refuge in the area of Local Authority B. 6.This hearing is a fact-finding hearing; it is one step along the road of these court proceedings. The ultimate purpose of the court proceedings is for us all to work together to try and find a way forward for the children in the arrangements they have with their parents and in particular whether and how they should spend time with their father. 7. This finding of fact hearing has been for the court to hear evidence and decide whether allegations made by the mother against the father have been proved. These decisions then underpin and inform the court’s decision-making going forwards when conducting the welfare analysis about the best interests of the children, which will be the next step in our journey. The court makes ‘binary’ decisions at this fact-finding stage. Either a fact is found to be proved or it is found not to be proved on the evidence put before the court. If it is proved, the fact will inform the welfare decision-making stage and if it is not proved, the allegation will be disregarded. It is for the party making an allegation to prove that allegation on the evidence properly placed before the court. The judge in this English jurisdiction does not act as an investigator contacting witnesses or making enquiries herself. The main purpose of this fact-finding process is to provide a basis for the assessment of risk. The court’s consideration should be limited to those issues which are relevant to an assessment of risk and the children’s welfare. It is neither possible nor desirable for the court process to be used as an exercise in vindicating or condemning one or other parent for their conduct in a relationship or for apportioning blame at the end of a relationship. The focus must be on providing a basis for the accurate assessment of risk for the children’s future relationships with their parents.