Articles

Gareth Graham analyses the case of Whitaker v White Rose Academies Trust & Luminate Education Group [2026] EAT 43, which serves as a helpful summary of the extent to which there is a limited duty on ETs to determine issues that were not clearly identified in the pleadings and then set out in a list of issues.

This case highlights the importance of having an accurate and comprehensive list of issues, especially given significant time pressures in the ET system.

This is the first reported case to consider the complex interaction between the overcrowding rules, the licencing regime for houses in multiple occupation and the accommodation of destitute asylum-seeking families in hotels.

Colin McDevitt reviews Dobson v North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust [2026] EAT 32: a good example of how the Tribunal at first instance correctly dealt with determining whether the Respondent could establish the PCP as a fair and proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Esther Lieu considers how a ‘child arrangements’ order made by a court in another country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children 1996  (‘the 1996 Convention’)  can be recognised and/or registered for enforcement in the Family Court of England and Wales.

They examine the Sentencing Act 2026, which received Royal Assent on 22 January 2026 and outlines the key provisions set to reshape sentencing law.

On 5 March 2026, the High Court gave judgment in a case concerning two permanent exclusions. The judgment provides detailed consideration of several areas relating to the procedure and discretionary powers of exclusion panels, writes Ben Amunwa.

Toria Holland considers the case of Re Y (Experts and Alienating Behaviour: The Modern Approach) [2026] EWFC 38, in which the President of the Family Division, Sir Andrew McFarlane, provides important guidance on the modern approach to parental alienation and the instruction of experts in private children cases.

Risk, caution and the unintended consequences of “safety first”.

Kate Yeomans reflects on a growing unease among practitioners that in private children law cases involving allegations of domestic abuse or substance misuse, the system increasingly errs so far on the side of caution that it risks abandoning balance, fairness, and – crucially – the child’s welfare. This unease is particularly acute in cases involving fathers.

Even though PAG1 and W v H [2020] EWFC B10 stress the importance of treating a case on its own facts, somehow a view developed that pensions should inevitably be divided to achieve equality of income in all ‘needs’ cases.

Luke Nelson reviews the PAG reports, how they help to demystify pensions issues and act as an incredibly useful reference guide for busy practitioners.

Mariya Peykova has written an in-depth analysis on the case of 'DSG Retail Limited v Information Commissioner [2026] EWCA Civ 140', which shows the scope of the duty imposed on data controllers protect personal data in their possession and control by taking appropriate technical and organisational measures.

Davinia Riley reviews Reid-Roberts v Mei-Lin [2026] EWHC 49 (Ch), a case that highlights the impact of bankruptcy on financial remedy proceedings and considers what is accepted as a 'signature' in the digital age.

Davinia includes a useful checklist for practitioners to avert disaster.

In MA v WK [2025] EWFC 499, the Family Court refused applications seeking declarations that marriages were valid where the parties had undergone Islamic Nikkah ceremonies in England that did not comply with the formalities of the Marriage Act 1949.

Nathalie Bull acted for the third respondent.