News/Blog

In this area of my website I set out items of news, commentary, blogs and articles. The most recent are set out below with a longer list in the right-hand column and many more which can be found using the search facility. Please do get in touch with me about any of these articles and the issues raised.

A book explaining family law on leaving the EU

  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

Consequences on English family law of the UK leaving the EU

  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,…

The CJEU casts doubt on England’s new post-Brexit divorce jurisdiction law

    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…

Issuing English family court proceedings in real time: NP v TP

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…

Family law issues relating to foreign superannuations, pensions

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…

Digital domestic abuse: the need for international laws and protections

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,…

Appointed Professor at the University of Law and at University of Leicester

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…

Divorce forum disputes: when dual nationality may not be a possibility

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…

Innovative New International Family Law Arbitration Scheme Announced in Fiji

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

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…

Unaccompanied minors and airline surcharges:The extra costs of long distance contact

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

Perfect marriages and perfect weddings

"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

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