The Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007, came into force on 25 November 2008, introduced a regime of civil protection in forced marriage cases by inserting Part 4A into the Family Law Act 1996. The government has issued non-statutory guidance: “Multi-Agency Practice Guidelines: Handling Cases of Forced Marriage” (June 2009) which complements the statutory guidance “The Right to Choose: Multi-Agency Statutory Guidance for Dealing with Forced Marriage” (November 2008).
Allegations of forced marriage can arise in a number of different contexts, including private law disputes between individuals and public law proceedings involving a Local Authority and/or the police. Whatever the context, our barristers can provide highly specialist advice to all parties involved including parents, children, Guardians, persons to be protected, family members, the police, and local authorities.
Our members are very experienced at handing these cases and the highly sensitive cultural contexts in which they often arise. We also have considerable experience in dealing with cases where a young person or child has been taken abroad and we can provide highly specialist advice in relation appropriate orders and applications in these situations.
Featured cases:
- West Sussex County Council & Anor v F & Ors [2018] EWHC 1702 (Fam) (22 June 2018) (Mehvish Chaudhry)
