The blood tie: Raised to the status of a presumption

Abstract

Based on an obiter dictum by Lord Templeman in Re KD the Court of Appeal has developed a presumption favouring the care of children by their natural parents in what ure referred to as blood tie cases. It is contended that this presumption conjlicts with the application of the principle of the paramountcy of the child's Hselfare in the light of the checklist in s.1(3) of the Children Act 1989, and psychological research about the emotional needs of children. The constitutional doctrine of the supremacy of Acts of Parliament, which subordinates judiciul pronouncements about the law to statute, requires the judiciary to discard the presumption. More importantly, its application may cause serious emotional damage to children who are separated from long-term carers to whom they have become strongly attached, as illustrated by a number of cases involving residence disputes between natural and psychological parents.

Key Words:

• blood tie
• Re KL)
• child
• welfare
• residence
• attachment
• separation