ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
FAMILY DIVISION
( MRS JUSTICE BRACEWELL )
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London, WC2A 2LL
B E F O R E:
LORD JUSTICE WALL
W (Children)
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The Applicant did not attend and was not represented
The Defendant did not attend and was not represented
J U D G M E N T
1. LORD JUSTICE WALL: This is an application by the mother of three children for permission to appeal a series of orders made by Bracewell J in the earlier part of this year. The position is that the mother applied to Bracewell J to discharge a care order in relation to the children who had been with prospective long-term foster parents/adoptive parents since August 2004. The judge refused that application and instead made orders freeing the children for adoption, amongst other matters with which she dealt.
2. The mother has not appeared this morning, although she was sent the consequential letter from the Civil Appeals office in December 2005 notifying her that the hearing would take place today. This leaves the court in a dilemma. On the one hand I have no doubt at all that the children and the prospective adopters would wish to know the outcome at the earliest opportunity and had expected the matter to be resolved one way or the other today. I do not underestimate the stress which they must be feeling. On the other hand, the mother has put forward a long and vigorous attack on the judgments made by Bracewell J and my anxiety is that, if I consider the matter on the papers today and give judgment today and if that judgment is hostile to her, she will inevitably apply to set it aside.
3. We have had no explanation as to why she is not here today. Attempts have been made to telephone her but without success, since the receiving end of the telephone call declines to accept calls which are unknown to her. In these circumstances I have decided that the proper course is not to resolve the matter today but to give the mother one further opportunity to attend the court. I will therefore direct that this application be adjourned to Thursday, 12 January 2006 at 2.00 pm, and that a copy of this judgment be transcribed at public expense and made available to the mother and to the local authority involved. I will also speak to listing so that every effort can be made to ensure that the mother can be demonstrated to have received notification of the revised hearing and I make it clear to her that, given the delays in this matter, any further application for an adjournment on her part is unlikely to be successful.
4. Since the mother is, I think, aware of the whereabouts of the children's placement and since the matter is of some considerable sensitivity in the light of her attitude to that placement, I have come to the conclusion that, unusually, this is a case in which the reporting restrictions which have been imposed in the case at first instance should, for the time being at least, continue to apply. Therefore in the unlikely event that any report is required of the observations which I have just made it should be exclusively under initials.
5. I will therefore adjourn the case to 12 January 2006 at 2.00 pm with the clear indication that I am unlikely to consider any further adjournment.
(Application adjourned; no order for costs; reporting restrictions to continue).