Dr George appears before Supreme Court in child protection case considering inherent jurisdiction

Dr Rob George, Vice-Dean (Programme Delivery and Development) and Reader in Family Law at UCL Laws, will appear online before the Supreme Court on 28-29 October as Junior Counsel for the appellant, with a team from Coram Chambers led by Mark Twomey QC, and instructed by Duncan Lewis solicitors.

Dr George, who is also a member of Harcourt Chambers, is involved with the case due to his research expertise in the High Court’s use of its inherent jurisdiction. He has published articles about the court's use of these power in relation to child protection, medical treatment and international abduction, and was also involved last year in the Supreme Court appeal in Re NY (A Child) [2019] UKSC 49 concerning the use of the inherent jurisdiction in abduction cases.

Re T (A Child) engages with the question of whether the High Court's inherent jurisdiction can be used to authorise the holding of a child in secure accommodation, for the protection of the child or wider society, when the statutory criteria of the Children Act are not met; or where accommodation which is authorised for use under the Act is not available. The case will also consider whether a child’s consent to the confinement is relevant when determining whether to exercise the inherent jurisdiction.

Read more about the case on the Supreme Court website.