This open access book explores the High Court’s powers under its inherent jurisdiction and wardship in relation to children and incapacitous and vulnerable adults.

The book introduces the inherent jurisdiction and investigates its place in the modern law. Part 1 provides a comprehensive history of the inherent jurisdiction, before giving a detailed account of the core principles and procedure applicable today, and comparing the approaches taken in Scotland, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Part 2 considers the court’s use of its inherent jurisdiction in specific categories of case, including child abduction, medical decision-making about children, child protection, incapacitous and vulnerable adults.

Despite its ancient roots, the inherent jurisdiction is relied on by High Court judges on a daily basis, in both everyday and cutting-edge cases. This book argues that the court’s approach to some of these cases is justified, but that judges often make unnecessary and inappropriate use of the inherent jurisdiction.

Through its critical examination of the modern use of wardship and the inherent jurisdiction, the book is essential reading for practitioners and researchers working in this field.

The ebook editions of this book are available open access under a CC BY-NC 4.0 licence on bloomsburycollections.com.