Whilst the UK has now left the EU, with a transition period until the end of December 2020, there remain a huge number of international families within the UK and the EU. There are already a great number of international families outside of Europe but with UK or EU connections. It is incumbent on both the UK and EU to…
Family law leaves the EU: guide: A summary guide for practitioners” is a new textbook published today, 20 October 2020, by LEXIS-NEXIS written by one of the world’s leading family lawyers, David Hodson. EUBookMedia1 https://www.lexisnexis.co.uk/store/products/family-law-leaves-the-eu-a-summary-guide-for-practitioners-skuuksku9781784734756FLLEU85541/details
My paper to the ERA conference in Trier in 2021 looking at several aspects of digital technology in family law systems worldwide ERAIT0121
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child has in February 2021 passed provisions, directions, and guidance for the better protection of children in the digital environment. This is of fundamental importance globally given the digital lives many children worldwide now inhabit. UNDigitalChildren0321
The statutory criteria to decide what is a fair financial settlement on divorce comes from the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, now almost 50 years old. In reality it derives from judge made law. This has the benefit of being responsive and able to change. It has the disadvantage that there is no public or policy input into the law…
The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, but the law stayed the same until 11 PM on 31 December 2020. From that time onwards, EU laws no longer applied in England and Wales in respect of new proceedings. But the consequence of transitional arrangements is that EU laws will continue to apply for many years, perhaps decades,…
An article written with Rebecca Bailey Harris, barrister, of 1 Hare Court and already published in International Family Law Journal of Lexis Nexis A recent decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has addressed the definition of habitual residence for the purposes of divorce jurisdiction under Art 3 of BIIA. It has confirmed the…
With filing of family court proceedings in England and Wales being increasingly a digital experience, and when the time of filing can be crucial, in the midst of Brexit the government published a series of changes crucially switching the time from the artificiality of when the court office next opened its doors to real-time, digital time. Relatively little attention has…
A paper I wrote for the Law Society of a country considering changing the law to require the attendance of the parties themselves at all Family Court hearings and which may be of interest to other countries considering a similar change PartiesAtt0922
This is the tax guide which I prepare each financial year for the most relevant taxes which present to families, on commencement and also on separation and divorce. Specific advice should always be taken. TAXGUIDE202324
Dealing with superannuation policies on divorce is one of the harder elements of family law work. But when there are foreign supers, pensions, involved, the matter becomes incredibly more complicated. Superannuations differ around the world with different fiscal implications, benefits, valuations and level of funds consistent with the lifestyle and overall finances of the family. Advice from a super adviser…
in this article I set out whether a practice direction from the Australian family courts could be the basis for a code of practice for the family law community across the world. The article can be found IntCode0120
There is urgent need for cross-border protection from digital domestic abuse. Existing laws in respect of cross-border domestic abuse protections are patchy, confined to a few countries and relatively rarely enforced. Specifically they anticipate domestic abuse will be of a physical or verbal threatening nature. However domestic violence or other physical domestic abuse is often accompanied by, or just is,…
I have been absolutely delighted and honoured to have been asked to be a visiting Professor at the University of Law (ULaw) and, separately, Honorary Professor at the University of Leicester The appointment as a Visiting Professor by the University of Law was part of their first ever panel of 11 newly created Visiting Professors. The University of Law is…
As there can be dramatic financial and other differences for an international family in proceedings in one country or another, jurisdiction is fundamentally important. It is sometimes based on nationality. But some countries prevent citizens having nationality of more than one country. International family lawyers need to be aware of which countries allow or prohibit dual nationality. This article looks…
Today (4th September 2017) at the 16th Australian Family Lawyers Conference in Fiji, Prof. Patrick Parkinson and David Hodson, two of the world’s leading international family lawyers, have launched an innovative new scheme to help international families. Called ‘The International Family Law Arbitration Scheme’ (IFLAS) it will avoid long and expensive forum litigation and will help couples work out where…
The Islamic marriage conundrum: Report of day conference at Institute of Advanced Legal Studies David Hodson OBE I was delighted to be invited to speak at a conference on Saturday, 9 May 2015 to consider the conundrum in the Islamic community, but of importance to our country and specifically our family law, regarding the non-registration of many marriages and…
“For services to international family law” The letter lay open on my desk, delivered in the routine office post whilst I was in a meeting. Marked private and confidential, it had been opened with other P&C letters I receive similarly marked in my line of business. No one read the dense text or gave it a second thought. When I saw…
The costs of international travel are a crucial factor for international families when children have contact with parents in different countries. It can be a vital factor in relocation applications. The “unaccompanied minors” arrangements of many airlines can be essential for the children and their parents but have their own cost to be taken into account See attached article
"The dream of having a perfect wedding is threatening the very institution of marriage." My report on a fascinating discussion led by Dr Rowan Williams https://www.davidhodson.com/wp-content/uploads/files/perfectweddings1.docx