There is no single test for coercive control. JSH Law compares the major frameworks used to understand patterns of abuse — from Evan Stark and Duluth to Emma Katz, DARA, Jane Monckton Smith, Robert Kaiser and Carisa Carlton — and asks what each can legitimately contribute to Family Court evidence.
A viral study says AI models contain a “pain axis” and may accept harm to users in order to remove an induced internal state. The research does not prove AI consciousness. Its more immediate significance is what it reveals about model behaviour, human safety and the risks of giving increasingly capable AI systems consequential powers.
Domestic-abuse evidence is often fragmented across police, health records, schools, Cafcass and digital communications. Drawing on Robert Kaiser’s work on behavioural trajectories and Escalation Pattern Analysis, JSH Law examines how chronology, patterns and changing behaviour could be made more visible in Family Court evidence — without turning an emerging research framework into an unsupported risk assessment.
A new national criminal-court listing framework requires judges to consider the human impact of delay. It does not apply to the Family Court — but its central principle raises an important question for family justice: are we measuring delay in weeks, or by what those weeks actually do to children and families?
The Court of Appeal says domestic-abuse obligations remain unchanged under the new Child Focused Court model. That does not mean the Family Court is unreformed. It means faster procedure cannot dilute PD12J, safeguarding or procedural fairness.
Technology-facilitated domestic abuse can involve GPS tracking, smart devices, compromised accounts and digital surveillance. This practical JSH Law guide explains how litigants in person can preserve, organise and present digital evidence without losing the wider pattern of coercive control.
Think the Family Court got a decision wrong? This practical 2026 guide explains permission to appeal, the 7 and 21-day deadlines, grounds of appeal, Form N161, new evidence and the important new rule for decisions made by magistrates.
The Family Court bundle rules changed in March 2026. This practical guide explains the new five-working-day deadline, who prepares the bundle, preliminary documents, digital evidence, e-bundles and how litigants in person should prepare for a hearing.
A litigant filed a 300-page ChatGPT-assisted skeleton argument. The real lesson from Hancox v Sutherland is not that AI has no place in court, but that technology cannot replace verification, evidential discipline, relevance or human judgment.
Child Focused Courts are changing private children proceedings across England and Wales. This practical guide explains the Child Impact Report, its relationship with Section 7, safeguarding checks, Cafcass assessments, fact-finding and how litigants in person should prepare.