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This judgment was delivered in private. The judge has given leave for this anonymised version of the judgment (and any facts and matters contained in it) to be published on condition that (irrespective of what is contained in the judgment) in any published version of the judgment the anonymity of the children and members of their family and their addresses must be strictly preserved. All persons, including representatives of the media, must ensure that this condition is strictly complied with. Failure to do so will be a contempt of court. |
This Transcript is Crown Copyright. It may not be reproduced in whole or in part other than in accordance with relevant licence or with the express consent of the Authority. All rights are reserved. |
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London, WC2A 2LL
Before:
Mr Justice Harrison
Re C (A Child) (Appeal: Fact-finding: Domestic Abuse)
APPROVED JUDGMENT
Dr Charlotte Proudman (instructed pro bono on a direct access basis) appeared on behalf of the appellant mother
Ms Hannah Markham KC and Ms Madeleine Whelan (instructed pro bono by Bindmans solicitors) appeared on behalf of the first respondent father
Ms Roseanna Cawthray Stern (instructed by NYAS) appeared on behalf of the child
Hearing dates: 11 June 2025 (reading day) and 12 and 13 June 2025
This judgment was handed down by email and by release to the National Archives at 2pm on 30 June 2025.
MR JUSTICE HARRISON:
- Heading
- Introduction
- The order and judgment below
- Legal framework
- Appeals
- The appellate court must bear in mind the advantage which the first instance Judge had in seeing the parties and the other witnesses. This applies to questions of credibility and findings of primary f
- The need for appellate caution in reversing the trial Judge's evaluation of the facts is based upon much more solid grounds than professional courtesy. It is because specific findings of fact are inhe
- The exigencies of daily court room life are such that reasons for judgment will always be capable of having been better expressed. This is particularly true of an unreserved judgment but also of a res
- An appellate court should resist the temptation to subvert the principle that they should not substitute their own discretion for that of the Judge by a narrow textual analysis which enables them to c
- It is only in a ‘rare’ case that an appellate tribunal will interfere with a Judge’s conclusion of fact. Examples include where that conclusion was one which (i) there was no evidence to support, (ii)
- The reasons for this stringent approach by appeal courts include ( Fage v Chobani )
- Submissions
- Father
- NYAS
- Conclusions