Scottish Human Rights Law Group

A 15 year old mother of an unborn child, who was herself the subject of a child protection, sought to lodge a caveat in the sheriff court in order to receive intimation of any application by the local authority for a child protection order in respect of her unborn child whose birth was expected imminently.   The sheriff, however, refused to warrant the sheriff clerk to receive the caveat and indicated that he would not hear representations by, or on behalf of, the mother if an application came before him for a child protection order.   The mother then petitioned the Court of Session for judicial review of the sheriff’s decision where the Lord Ordinary, Lord McCluskey granted the petition and ordered the sheriff to instruct the sheriff clerk to accept a caveat on behalf of the mother and to afford her the chance to make representations on the basis that both the mother and child had rights under Article 8 which had to be taken into consideration, and the mother had article 6 rights to which require properly to be taken into consideration. And which might be breached by the sheriff from determining any application in relation to the child without hearing from the mother.

Full report available at:  2002 Fam LR 42, OH,