Latest updates
- The mother requested permission to take her nine-year-old son on holiday to Brazil. The boy was living with the father in England, while the mother had previously made and then withdrawn a wrongful removal claim under the 1980 Hague Convention. Roberts J accepted the mother's evidence that she intended to ensure the child's safe return at the end of any stay in Brazil. The risk was that she would change her mind once the boy was there or be persuaded by her family not to return him. On balance, Roberts J was persuaded that the potential benefits to the child of spending time with his mother in Brazil outweighed the potential risks of a wrongful retention, provided that certain protections, including mirror orders, were in place before the visit. Judgment, 14/01/2020, free
- The father in child abduction proceedings had applied for directions to implement a return order. The mother had brought the children from Texas to England in 2017, and had been ordered to return them. The Court of Appeal had held that it would be intolerable to return the children to the USA without their mother, but her application for a humanitarian parole visa had been rejected by the American immigration service. Knowles J was unable to vary the Court of Appeal's order, and so did not have the jurisdiction to entertain the father's application. The parties would have to consider whether to apply to the Court of Appeal for reconsideration of its order. However, she urged them to consider a child-focused, consensual end to the litigation, before further hearings eroded whatever goodwill remained. Judgment, 03/01/2020, free
- The parents were British and Jordanian nationals, who married in Jordan in 2010 and moved to England in 2011. The mother applied for a declaration that their six-year-old son was habitually resident here, and for an order prohibiting the father from removing the boy from the care of the mother or from this jurisdiction, and from making further applications regarding the child in Jordan. The father argued that the Kingdom of Jordan was the appropriate legal forum for determination of the welfare issues. MacDonald J was wholly satisfied that the child was habitually resident in the jurisdiction of England and Wales, where he had been born and had lived for all but sixteen months. It was therefore the natural and appropriate forum for the welfare issues to be determined. Judgment, 03/01/2020, free
- The father applied for the return of his five-year-old daughter to Belgium. The mother's defence raised two issues: whether the court should refuse a return on the grounds of the daughter's objections, and whether it should refuse a return on the basis of article 13(b). Ms C Ambrose, sitting as a deputy High Court judge, decided that the daughter's age and maturity did not justify refusing a return on the grounds of her objection, and it had not been established that there was a grave risk of a return to Belgium being intolerable for her. The return order was made as requested, with the undertakings offered. Judgment, 23/12/2019, free
- The son had been retained in India by the mother, despite orders made for his return. The father applied for committal of the mother. Williams J was satisfied that the relevant orders had been properly served on the mother, that she was aware of the obligation to return the son, that the obligation was clear, and that the orders were clear as to the consequences of non-compliance. The mother had wilfully failed to comply with three orders of the court, and he therefore found her in contempt. The sentence of six months' imprisonment was suspended for 28 days to give her a final opportunity to return the child. Judgment, 23/12/2019, free
Latest know-how
- The judge made an order for a summary return to Poland in respect of a 12 year old and her 17 year old brother in what he described as “a hot pursuit case.” Case note, 04/11/2019, members only
- In a tweet: Local expert evidence key to securing temporary leave to remove a child to Brazil (a Hague Convention country with a poor reputation for compliance) for holidays. Case note, 04/11/2019, members only
- A mother’s appeal was dismissed in circumstances in which she had challenged a return order made in respect of the child. Case note, 04/11/2019, members only
- Successful application by a father to secure the return of the parties’ daughter to Latvia. Case note, 04/11/2019, members only
- In brief: A father’s application for further directions to assist in the implementation of a return order made in respect of the parties’ two children, who were to be returned from England to the US, was dismissed on the grounds that the court had no jurisdiction to entertain F’s application. Case note, 04/11/2019, members only
Latest training
- Recording of webinar first broadcast on 23 November 2018. Webcast, 29/11/2018, members only
- Tim Scott QC of 29 Bedford Row tries to make sense of what might happen to international family cases after 29th March next year and reviews a few recent key international finance cases. Recorded September 2018. Webcast, 07/10/2018, members only
- Tim Scott QC from 29 Bedford Row, provides an update to the Maintenance Regulation, 5 years after it came into force. This webcast was recorded on 1 September 2016. Webcast, 02/09/2016, members only
- Audio recording of webinar first broadcast live 26 April 2016 Webcast, 29/04/2016, free
- In this recorded webcast, Tim Scott QC from 29 Bedford Row summarises the main issues when dealing with cases involving financial claims in England following an overseas divorce. Webcast, 15/06/2015, members only
Latest sources
- An updated table of signatories and members states Tool, 02/03/2017, free
- Link to guidance on the Collaborative Family Law website Tool (external), 15/05/2012, free