In a bid to address the challenges in instances where one parent is convicted of serious crimes such as murder or manslaughter, the Ministry of Justice introduced the Victims and Prisoners' bill but how will it work?
Legally removing or terminating parental responsibility is complicated and requires an order from the court, and happens extremely rarely.
An area where this issue has not been addressed is where a parent is convicted of murder or manslaughter but retains parental responsibility. This demonstrates a critical gap in current family law.
Below, Duncan Lewis' child care caseworker Ikrah Naveed examines the Victims and Prisoners' bill and efforts to tackle this very issue.
The Current Law on Parental Responsibility
UK law grants mothers automatic parental responsibility. Fathers also receive parental responsibility if they are married to the child's mother or named on the birth certificate. The process of removing parental responsibility can be complex and time-consuming, where families of the deceased victims must undergo the cumbersome process of applying to suspend or remove parental responsibility from the convicted parent. To address this, the 'Victims and Prisoners' Bill' was introduced by the Ministry of Justice in 2022.
The Bill
The Victims and Prisoners' Bill aims to support victims of crime and reform the parole system in the UK. One long-debated amendment is the intention to automatically suspend parental responsibility for any parent convicted of murder or manslaughter of the other parent. This proposal intends to provide immediate relief to affected families, sparing them from additional trauma. Importantly, it also includes exceptions for cases involving domestic abuse, recognising the complexity of such situations and putting in place an automatic exemption in such cases.
Jade Ward
This change was inspired by the case of Jade Ward, who was murdered by her former partner in 2021. Jade's family faced the distressing reality of her killer retaining parental rights over their four children who was constantly asking for the children's pictures and other information about their lives. This prompted their campaign for legal reform, to automatically rescind parental responsibility to prevent convicted individuals from obtaining information on their children, and making important decisions about their lives. These measures have been dubbed 'Jade's Law' and the Victims and Prisoners' bill intends to see the introduction of Jade's Law where parental rights will be automatically restricted so families do not have to apply for this and go through a complex court process.
The Implementation of the Bill
Currently, the bill has been granted Royal Assent (on May 24, 2024). The Government has three months to implement the relevant regulations to put this legislation in place. Unfortunately, for Jade's family, the law cannot be applied retrospectively. It will be interesting to see whether this will be a further amendment to the law to be considered by Parliament.
Overall, this law will remove the pressure, trauma and emotional toll bereaved families must go through to remove the parental responsibility of individuals convicted of murder or manslaughter of the other parent. It will protect children by preventing such convicted criminals from having a say in any parts of their lives, and will allow them to heal from the trauma they would have already experienced and prevent further trauma.
Duncan Lewis Solicitors can advise you in relation to your children law cases. We are committed to the welfare of children and wholeheartedly endorse such transformative programmes. Duncan Lewis is recommended by The Legal 500 legal directory for its specialism in all aspects of family and children law nationwide and cross-border. The Legal 500 applauds our family and childcare solicitors to be a team of 'friendly professionals who take their time to understand your case'. Duncan Lewis' team includes Advanced Members of the Law Society's Family Panel, and members of the Law Society Children Panel.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.