Judicial attitudes to contact and shared residence since the Children Act 1989

Abstract

Both reported and unreported judgments on contact after parental separation and on shared residence, made since the implementation of the Children Act 1989, are examined in order to establish whether the Act has brought about changes in the criteria relied on by the courts. The judgments are evaluated in the light of research on the effects on children of divorce and of shared residence arrangements. It has been found that there is greater consistency in the decisions on contact following parental separation than before the Act came into force. The application of the principle that cogent reasons must exist for denying contact has led to a clear judicial trend towards allowing contact even in cases where a parent is implacably opposed to it. In the area of shared residence old assumptions about its unusual nature and undesirability in most cases still prevail, though it is recognized that the courts have the power to make such orders when they are clearly for the benefit of children.

Key Words:

• child
• contact
• parent
• residence
• shared
• welfare