Guardian Ad Litem

The old term for the Children's Guardian.

GAL

See: Guardian Ad Litem

Gateway Meeting

A meeting between the Local Authority and parents designed to discuss with the parents the concerns of the Local Authority.  Legal representatives for the parents are encouraged to attend and legal funding is available for them to do so.  During the meeting a plan will be formulated for the parents to address those concerns.    The Local Authority will also set out in the plan what the Local Authority will do to safeguard the child and what will happen if the plan is not followed by the parents.

Good Enough Parenting

A term used in child welfare to distinguish between the care provided by a parent to a child which is adequate, and care which warrants intervention by an outside authority and perhaps the removal of the child from their parents.

The term was first coined by Dr Winnicott and there is a good wikipedia article about it here.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Winnicott

Habitual Residence

The country in which a child normally lives (a child maybe said to be habitually resident somewhere), even if the child has only recently moved there.

Hague Convention

A convention signed by a number of countries to enforce the rights of contact and to prevent the removal of a child without permission by a parent to another country.

Full text available on: 

www.pact-online.org/html/hague_convention.html

List of countries who have signed the Hague Convention

http://www.reunite.org/signatories.html

Harassment

This term is defined in Protection from Harassment Act 1997 that includes but is not restricted to, ‘alarming a person' and ‘causing the person distress' section 7(2). ‘Harassment includes within it an element of intent, intent to cause distress or harm'. Harassment is a course of conduct must involve conduct on at least two occasions. Conduct includes speech and can be taken if aided, abetted, counselled or procured by another.

Harm

Under the Children Act 1989 harm is defined as ill-treatment of the impairment of health or development including impairment suffered from seeing or hearing the ill treatment of another.

Health Visitor

A trained nurse who gives medical care and advice to people in their homes, especially to mothers of babies and young children and the elderly.  http://www.healthvisitors.com/hv/1

Hearing

The public trial of a case before a court. In most circumstances, family hearings will be held in private i.e. only including person's party to the proceedings & their lawyers.

Hemain Order

English courts have the power to restrain a party in an action from commencing or pursuing legal proceedings in a foreign country.  Hemain v Hemain [1988] 2 FLR 388 concerned divorce proceedings which were issued in both England and France.

HHJ

His / Her Honour Judge

High Court Judge

High Court Judge's in family proceedings are assigned to the Family Division of the High Court and mainly sit in London (although they can travel to major court centres in England and Wales).  High Court Judges hear cases which are complex and will wear a wig and gown or robe except in family cases.  A High Court Judge should be addressed as My Lord or My Lady or Your Lordship / Your Ladyship.

For more information, visit this website.

Hildebrand Documents

Where a party in ancillary relief proceedings has obtained documents of the other side they ought not to have, the opposing party is entitled to request copies of those documents which may be referred to as Hildebrand documents after the name of the case which established this.

Human Rights Act

Enacted in 1998 the HRA has the effect of incorporating most of the articles in the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law. As a result of the HRA all public authorities must act in accordance with the ECHR and all acts passed by parliament must be compatible with the ECHR. Where an act is not compatible the HRA allows the court to make a declaration of incompatibility stating that the act does not comply with the ECHR.

The Human Rights Act

HRA

Human Rights Act