ABC v The Minister For Health & Social Services And The States Employment Board

1. The Court has recently decided for the first time in Jersey in ABC v The Minister for Health & Social Services and The States Employment Board that a parent does not have a private cause of action arising from a breach of the Children (Jersey) Law 2002.

2. The facts are similar to those that have troubled the Courts of England & Wales numerous times over the years. A child is taken into the care of the State. The parent alleges wrongly so and as a result the parent alleges he or she has suffered psychiatric harm arising from the separation from his or her child.

3. The English case of X (Minors) v. Bedfordshire County Council 1 set out the law in 1995 in relation to the Children Act 1989 on the same point. The Court considered first whether the wording of the statute allowed a parent or child to bring an action. It did not. The wording would have to show a clear parliamentary intent for a private cause of action to arise and in addition the Plaintiff would have to fall within a limited...