Re B (Children) (Care Proceedings: Standard of Proof)
E655795
Re B (Children) (Care Proceedings: Standard of Proof) is a leading House of Lords decision that clarified the civil standard of proof required in child care proceedings under UK law.
Statements (39)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
House of Lords decision
ⓘ
UK case law ⓘ public law children case ⓘ |
| appliesTo |
Children Act 1989 care proceedings
ⓘ
public law applications for care orders ⓘ |
| authorityLevel |
binding precedent in England and Wales
ⓘ
leading authority ⓘ |
| citedBy | UK family courts in care proceedings ⓘ |
| citedFor |
approach to evaluating serious allegations in civil proceedings
ⓘ
statement of the civil standard of proof in child protection cases ⓘ |
| clarified |
that the civil standard of proof applies in care proceedings
ⓘ
that the seriousness of the allegation does not change the standard of proof ⓘ that the seriousness of the allegation is relevant to the evaluation of evidence ⓘ that there is no intermediate standard of proof between civil and criminal standards ⓘ |
| concerns |
care proceedings
ⓘ
standard of proof ⓘ |
| country | England and Wales NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| court | House of Lords NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| holding |
local authorities must prove facts on the balance of probabilities
ⓘ
the so‑called ‘heightened civil standard’ is rejected ⓘ |
| impact |
rejection of variable standards of proof based on gravity of allegations
ⓘ
standardised approach to proof in care proceedings ⓘ |
| influenced | later UK child protection jurisprudence ⓘ |
| jurisdiction | United Kingdom ⓘ |
| keyIssue |
threshold criteria under section 31 of the Children Act 1989
ⓘ
whether allegations of serious harm require a higher standard of proof ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| legalArea |
child protection law
ⓘ
evidence law ⓘ family law ⓘ |
| legalPrinciple |
only two standards of proof exist in English law: civil and criminal
ⓘ
the balance of probabilities means ‘more likely than not’ ⓘ the more serious the allegation, the stronger the evidence needed to satisfy the same standard ⓘ |
| standardOfProof |
balance of probabilities
ⓘ
civil standard ⓘ |
| subjectMatter |
risk of significant harm
ⓘ
welfare of children ⓘ |
| usedIn |
practice of local authorities in child protection cases
ⓘ
training and guidance for family judges ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.