In the matter of R-S (Children)

Permission to Appeal application lodged

Case summary
Permission to Appeal
Previous proceedings

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2026/0108

Parties

Appellant(s)

The Father

Respondent(s)

The Mother

Issue

1. What is a “judgment” for the purposes of s.40 Constitutional Reform Act 2005? 2. Is a totally without merit certification valid where a jurisdictional objection has been raised but never determined?

Facts

The parties are parents to two children. Following various earlier proceedings, the Appellant brought Child Arrangement Order (“CAO”) proceedings in March 2023. In September 2023, a Legal Services Payment Order (“LSPO”) was made against the Appellant and after he failed to comply with it, a Hadkinson Order was made in February 2024 (and subsequently varied in June 2024). Under a Hadkinson Order, the court may refuse to hear a party who is in contempt, or to impose conditions with which they must comply to be heard. In this case, the Hadkinson Order prohibited the Appellant from pursuing any applications in respect of the children's welfare (except schooling) until a payment was made pursuant to the LSPO. The Hadkinson Order provided for remittal of the original CAO proceedings to the Family Court upon compliance, and for listing of directions hearings in those proceedings. On 16 September 2025, at a directions hearing, the Family Court made a Final Order in the CAO proceedings; at the time, the Appellant had not complied with the Hadkinson Order. The Appellant’s position is that the Hadkinson Order exclusively provided for directions hearings to be heard and therefore the Family Court could not make final orders. The Appellant appealed to the High Court, challenging the validity of the Final Order on the basis that the Family Court was bound by the wording of the Hadkinson Order and therefore acted outside its jurisdiction. Permission to appeal was refused by the High Court, finding that (1) the Family Court did have jurisdiction to make the Final Orders, and (2) that the appeal was totally without merit. The Appellant sought permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal who gave directions that they had no jurisdiction. The Appellant now appeals to the Supreme Court.