Split hearings

In re A and another (children: split hearings) CA TLR 7 September

Where the court is contemplating a split hearing in a case involving children, it is essential that the issues to be resolved in the first limb of the hearing are clearly defined and that the consequences of any such findings are fully understood by the parties. In a single-issue case in which the facts found would determine whether or not the threshold criteria under s31(2) of the Children Act 1989 have been established, the directions must: (i) identify precisely the purpose of the hearing; and (ii) identify with as much precision as possible the facts upon which the local authority relied and which it asserted would, if proved, establish the criteria.