---

England-and-Wales guides on ‘parental alienation’

Family lawyers in England and Wales have welcomed judicial guidance on the concept of ‘parental alienation’, designed to inform the courts and professionals on how such allegations should be dealt with.

The Law Society Gazette of England and Wales reports that the guidance, published by the Family Justice Council, states that the issue polarises opinion in a way that is counterproductive to the best interests of children.

“Given that ‘parental-alienation syndrome’ has no evidential basis, there are concerns that its use as a term, or any associated terms such as ‘alienating behaviours’, accords it misplaced legitimacy,” the guidance says.

“Whilst this is a concern, it remains an allegation which the family courts in England and Wales are increasingly asked to consider and act upon.

Cases increasing

“The purpose of this guidance is to assist with navigation of the existing system, drawing together best practice in relation to the law as it stands against a backdrop of an increasing number of cases in which these allegations are raised,” the guidance states.

The court would need to be satisfied that three elements had been established to conclude that alienating behaviours had occurred:

• The child is reluctant, resisting, or refusing to engage in, a relationship with a parent or carer,
• The reluctance, resistance, or refusal is not consequent on the actions of that parent towards the child or the other parent, and
• The other parent has engaged in behaviour that has directly or indirectly affected the child.

Consistency

The Gazette quoted Sital Fontenelle (head of family law at Kingsley Napley) as saying that anything that brought a consistency of approach to the issue was helpful.

“Determining why a child refuses to see a parent can be very complex, as it may stem from manipulation by one parent, or a reaction to being a victim of domestic abuse, or indeed both. It can often take a lot of court time to grapple with these challenging issues,” she stated.

In Ireland, a policy paper published by the Department of Justice last year made several recommendations on the issue.

The research found that, while there was evidence of the use of the term in Irish courts, there was no common definition or description of it.