Paediatrician

A doctor who has special training in medical care for children.

Paramountcy Principle

The principle that in proceedings involving children the interests of the child are of the main concern for the court set out under section 1 of the Children Act 1989

Paternity

Male parentage, fatherhood, the kinship between a father and child.

Parental Responsibility (PR)

PR is defined by section 3 of the Children Act 1989 "all the rights, duties, powers, responsibilities and authority which by law a parent has in relation to the child and his property".

For a complete article on parental responsibility see:

http://www.askthefamilylawyer.co.uk/page_id=44

PD Docs

Practice Direction Documents

Parents Alienation Syndrome

Parental alienation is said to be the conscious action of one parent turning against another to oust the other parent from the affection, love and respect or regard of their children.  It is often referred to in the literature as a Syndrome but it is not usually recognised as such in the UK courts.

See http://www.parental-alienation.info/

For a good article on the UK approach see this one by Stan Hayward of Families Need Fathers.

http://www.coeffic.demon.co.uk/pas.htm

Penal Notice

Non compliance with a judgment or order for example a breach of an injunction with a penal notice (ie a warning)  attached to it means that the defendant in breach is in contempt of court and could face a custodial sentence.

Pension Earmarking

An order in ancillary relief proceedings allowing the court to order that the pension scheme of one party is to divert a portion of the pension or lump sum to the other party.  This order does not split the pension before retirement and allows the fund to mature with a portion reserved for the other party.

Pension Sharing Order

An order in ancillary relief proceedings allowing the court to order that the pension and its rights be subject to pension sharing for the purposes of benefiting the other party through a specified percentage value to be transferred.  This order splits the pension before retirement.

Periodical Payments

A form of maintenance to be paid to a party by the other for the term specified in the order.

Permission to leave Jurisdiction

In certain cases permission from the court is required before a party may take a child abroad, thereby leaving the jurisdiction of the court. Permission may be required not only to remove a child permanently from the courts jurisdiction but also when a party wishes to take a child abroad for a holiday.

See this article on Family Law Week by Jacqui Gilliatt:

I'm Leaving on A Jet Plane, Don't Know When I'll Be Back Again: Can I take the Children with me?

http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/library.asp?i=3034

Personality Disorder

Deeply ingrained behaviour patterns that do not lend themselves to easy classification as a mental illness, for which an underlying mechanism of mental disorder is not known. Nonetheless the disordered behaviour represents an extreme variant of ‘normal' behaviour.

Mental Health Information

http://personalitydisorder.org.uk

Petition

The application for a divorce or judicial separation

Petitioner

The person who applies for the divorce or judicial separation.

PHR

See: Pre-Hearing Review

PII

See: Public Interest Immunity

Placement

Where a child should live and with whom (usually used in the context of the child being placed somewhere other than with his or her parents).

Placement Order

This is an order under s 21 of the Adoption & Children Act 2002 authorising the local authority to place a child for adoption where there is no parental consent or where parental consent is dispensed with by the court.

Police Protection Order (PPO)

Under section 46 of the Children Act 1989 where a police constable has reasonable cause to believe that a child would be likely to suffer significant harm he may remove the child to suitable accommodation or take such steps as are reasonable to ensure that the child's removal from hospital or any other place is prevented.  A child can be kept in police protection for a maximum of 72 hours.

Power of Arrest

A power of arrest can be attached to a court order which gives the police the authority to arrest a person in breach of that order without a warrant.

PPO

See: Police Protection Order

PRFD

See: Principle Registry of the Family Division

Prayer

The part of the petition in ancillary relief proceedings which asks the court to make orders in favour of the petitioner

Pre-Proceedings Checklist

A checklist of documents which the local authority attach to the application form for a care or supervision order.  The checklist is a guide to what documents are expected at the start of the proceedings.

Pre-Trial Review

A hearing at which the court decides how a case should proceed and what each party ought to do to assist the court.  More usually known as Pre-Hearing Review in family cases.

Principle Registry of the Family Division

Part of the Family Division of the High Court, it also acts as a county court.

Private Law

Under the Children Act 1989 this means cases which do not involve a local authority and relate to matters such as the residence of a child and contact with the parents upon the break up of a relationship.

Prohibited Steps Order

Under s. 8 of the Children Act 1989 a prohibited steps order means an order that no step which could be taken by a parent in meeting his parental responsibility for a child, and which is of a kind specified in the order, shall be taken by any person without the consent of the court. This order is often used to prevent a parent removing a child from jurisdiction.

Property Adjustment Order

An order made by the court that a husband or wife should transfer property to the other.

PSO

See: Prohibited Steps Order

Psychiatrist

A doctor who specialises in mental illness.

The professional body supervising psychiatrists is the Royal College of Psychiatrists

http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/

Psychologist

Someone who studies the human mind, people's emotions and behaviour and how situations affect them.

The professional body supervising psychologists is the British Psychological Society

http://www.bps.org.uk/

Psychometric testing

A psychometric test is a way of assessing a person's ability, IQ or personality in a measured and structured way.  Tests are often carried out by questionnaires and/or interviews and administered by psychologists.  Psychometric tests are often used in family law to assess how a person thinks, behaves and how they are motivated.  To know how somebody learns can assist the court when considering what type of assessment would be suited to a person.  However, the courts have warned that there should not be too heavy a reliance placed on psychometric tests alone but they should be looked at as part of the whole picture from all of the evidence.

See http://www.psychtesting.org.uk

PTR

See: Pre-Trial Review

Public Interest Immunity

A claim to withhold documents or other information in the public interest.  Local authorities have a duty to assert the public interest in keeping social services' files confidential but the court can override them and make the documents public.  This often comes up in the context of a criminal case where the defence or prosecution want to get hold of some background information from social services files which may be relevant to the criminal case.

Public Law

Under the Children Act 1989 part 4 these are cases which involve the exercise of statutory duty by a local authority in relation to children. Most often these involve the instigation of care proceedings.

Public Law Outline

The Public Law Outline (PLO) came into force on 1^st April 2008.  It replaces the Protocol for Judicial Case Management in Public Law Children Act Cases.  The PLO outlines and explains the key stages of public law proceedings.

For public law outline forms see:

http://www.familylawweek.co.uk/library.asp?i=3495

For the PLO see:  http://www.justice.guidance/careproceedings.htm

Purge Contempt

When a person is committed to prison for contempt of court they may be released early if they are able to 'purge' their contempt for example by apologising to the court, making undertakings or paying a fine.

Purple Book

Framework Assessment.