By Amanda Hill, with contribution from Tim Sugden and Celia Kitzinger, 26th March 2025 The protected party in this case, “P”, is a woman in her early twenties, with diagnoses of autism, ADHD, behavioural difficulties and limited communication skills. Her mother took her to Jamaica in February 2023 “seemingly to evade the involvement of social careContinue reading “Two years on, P is still missing: Judge refuses application to conclude proceedings, holds proceedings partly in private, and issues injunction with penal notice against mother”
Tag Archives: Transparency
“I’m making these orders not for my own amusement, but for P”: Judge admonishes professionals over “disappointing” failures
I observed the judge’s surprise and exasperation at the lack of progress in HMB’s case as performing a function of delegitimising and ‘calling out’ the situation…. Hearing such disapproval from someone exercising the authority of the court (in open court) felt like a powerful counter to such tacit social legitimisation that I wish more of society could (or would) hear.
Feeling foolish and frustrated: How I failed to observe an RCJ hearing due to an uncorrected listing error
By Amanda Hill, 23rd March 2025 I was excited to be travelling to London to observe an in-person hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice (RCJ) as part of my research with Cardiff University. This would be my third time observing in person at the RCJ and I was beginning to feel as though I knewContinue reading “Feeling foolish and frustrated: How I failed to observe an RCJ hearing due to an uncorrected listing error”
Correcting judicial mistakes: HHJ Robertshaw’s transparency order
By Celia Kitzinger, 16th March 2025 Everybody makes mistakes sometimes. Even judges. Some mistakes can be inconsequential: a typo, a bit of grammar that doesn’t make sense, paragraphs wrongly numbered. I’m not complaining about mistakes like that, what someone on X described (in response to my complaints) as “dotting the ‘i’s and crossing the ‘t’s”.Continue reading “Correcting judicial mistakes: HHJ Robertshaw’s transparency order”
Contempt of court proceedings: Are they transparent?
By Celia Kitzinger, 9th March 2025 This is an expanded and updated version of part of the submission I made on behalf of the Open Justice Court of Protection Project to the Ministry of Justice Law Commission Consultation on contempt of court. I plan to publish the other parts of my submission in a separateContinue reading “Contempt of court proceedings: Are they transparent?”
Response to the Transparency and Open Justice Board proposed “key objectives”
By Celia Kitzinger, 3rd March 2025 The Transparency and Open Justice Board recently sought views on the Board’s proposed key objectives. The Board was created in April 2024 by the Lady Chief Justice, who said that it would “…set objectives for all Courts and Tribunals, focussing on timely and effective access in terms of listing, documents and publicContinue reading “Response to the Transparency and Open Justice Board proposed “key objectives””
A young man failed by NHS South West London ICB and the London Borough of Wandsworth
Working in the health service, I often hear families’ concerns or reasonable complaints framed as them being ‘anxious’ about their loved one’s care. I think it can be a manoeuvre to delegitimise their (often perfectly reasonable) concerns and belittle their status as a full participant. Conversely, I don’t hear the word ‘anxious’ being used about powerful professionals when they speak up or raise concerns.
P has capacity to decide to leave hospital – but there’s nowhere for him to go: Untangling capacity, “being on a DOLS”, and the care plan
By Amanda Hill, 24th February 2025 P, the protected party in this case, is a young man in his twenties, with an acquired brain injury and a spinal injury that has caused paraplegia. He’s been in hospital since October 2024 but has been medically fit for discharge for some months. There’s an earlier blog post here: Detention in hospital, capacity and treatment:Continue reading “P has capacity to decide to leave hospital – but there’s nowhere for him to go: Untangling capacity, “being on a DOLS”, and the care plan”
Access to the Court of Protection in London: Do court buildings support transparency and open justice?
By Daniel Clark, 17th February 2025 Remote hearings, commenced during the COVID-19 lockdowns, have made it possible for more people to observe (and write about) cases in the Court of Protection. In fact, the majority of the blogs on the Open Justice Court of Protection Project website are written about remote hearings. At the riskContinue reading “Access to the Court of Protection in London: Do court buildings support transparency and open justice?”
What is wrong with Deprivation of Liberty and selling P’s home to pay care fees?
By Jenny Kitzinger, 10th February 2024 Mr G is a man in his sixties with vascular dementia and frontal lobe damage. The Court of Protection has found that he lacks capacity to litigate and to make decisions regarding his residence and care. He has lived mostly in residential care since 2019 – but he doesn’tContinue reading “What is wrong with Deprivation of Liberty and selling P’s home to pay care fees?”
Promoting Open Justice in the Court of Protection 