Home > Mathew Alexander Thorpe

He has presided over a number of important cases which have influenced the evolution of family law. He is regarded as a traditionalist in respect of parenting role but as a reactionary by his detractors.

1. Roles of men and women Re: S (Children)[2002] EWCA Civ 583

This case concerned a divorce where the mother had a high salary and the father stayed at home to look after the children under a shared parenting arrangement. If residence had been awarded to the fatherA father is the male parent of a child. Fathers may be categorised according to their biological, social or legal relationship with the child. Historically, the biological relationship paternity has been determinative of fatherhood. However, proof of pate, the status quo in LondonLondon is the capital of the United Kingdom and of England, and with over seven million inhabitants in the Greater London area, is the second-most populous conurbation in Europe (after Moscow). From being Londinium the capital of the Roman province of Bri would continue. However, if residence were awarded to the mother then she would move with the children to LinlithgowFormerly the principal town of West Lothian, Linlithgow lies some 20 miles west of Edinburgh along the main railway route to Glasgow. Its rich history and central location make it a popular tourist destination while a significant proportion of the local p in ScotlandScotland or in Scottish Gaelic, Alba is a country and former independent kingdom of northwest Europe, and one of the four nations comprising the United Kingdom. Scotland occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain. Scotland took part in a p. It was submitted on behalf of the father that it would be gender discriminationTo discriminate is to make a distinction. There are several meanings of the word, including statistical discrimination, or the actions of a circuit called a discriminator. This article addresses the most common meaning of the word, social, racial, religio to decide residence in favour of the mother: if the rolese were to be reversed, a father who proposed to abandon a lucrative career with the consequence that his wife and children would suffer a dramatic downturn in the standard of living, would not have the smallest chance of being given a residence order as his reward. This submission was rejected by LJ Thorpe on grounds of gender roleThailand relaxes in the early evening. From a Western point of view, wearing a sarong may not be accepted as part of a male gender role, but not so in other societies. In sociology the term gender role denotes a set of behavioral norms. Gender role is a s:

"That submission seems to me to ignore the realities, namely the very different role and functions of men and women, and the reality that those who sacrifice the opportunity to provide full-time care for their children in favour of a highly competitive professional race do, not uncommonly, question the purpose of all that striving, and question whether they should not re-evaluate their life before the children have grown too old to benefit."

2. Leave to remove from the jurisdiction

This refers to the situation where the court must decide whether to grant permission to a parent who wants to take the children to live in another jurisdiction in the face of opposition from the other parent. It means that a parent (invariably the father) who continued to live in the UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a state in Western Europe, usually known simply as the United Kingdom the UK Britain or less accurately as Great Britain . The UK was formed by a series of Acts of Union which united the formerly would no longer have access to his children.

In Payne v Payne (2001) 2 WLR 1826, LJ Thorpe found that unilateral relocation cases had been consistently decided over 30 years upon the application of the following two propositions:

(a) the welfare of the child is the paramount consideration; and

(b) refusing the primary carer’s reasonable proposals for the relocation of her family life is likely to impact detrimentally on the welfare of her dependent children. Therefore her application to relocate will be granted unless the court concludes that it is incompatible with the welfare of the children.

Applying these principles, the Payne child was allowed to be taken to New ZealandFor alternative meanings, see New Zealand (disambiguation). New Zealand is a country formed of two major islands and a number of smaller islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. A common Mori name for New Zealand is Aotearoa popularly translated as Land by the mother since otherwise the effect on her of being forced to stay in England would be "devastating". This approach was followed again later in Re: B (Children) (Removal from Jurisdiction); Re: S (A Child) (Removal from Jurisdiction) (2003) (2003) 2 FLR 1043. LJ Thorpe said, in connection with two cases involving children being removed to Australia and South Africa respectively, that to frustrate "natural emigration" risked the survival of the new family or blighted its potential for "fulfilment and happiness". He said:

"Often there will be a price to be paid in welfare terms by the diminution of the children's contact with their father and his extended family."

He said that it was also possible for a father to take employment abroad after separation or to marry a foreigner and there would be the same loss of contact.

"These are the tides of chance and life and in the exercise of its paternalistic jurisdiction it is important that the court should recognise the force of these movements and not frustrate them unless they are shown to be contrary to the welfare of the child."