Latest updates
- The mother applied for a declaration that the child was habitually resident in the jurisdiction of England and Wales, and for orders that would prohibit the father from removing the child from her care or from that jurisdiction, in circumstances where the Sweileh Sharia Court of Jordan had issued a without notice order requiring her to place the child in the father's care immediately. MacDonald J was wholly satisfied that the child was habitually resident in the jurisdiction of England and Wales, and thus the court had jurisdiction in relation to matters of parental responsibility. It was in the child's best interests for the English court to decide the welfare issues between the parents. Judgment, 30/07/2019, free
- The mother applied for an order requiring the father to return their son from Ghana to England. The father argued that the mother had consented to the move, and that the child would benefit educationally from staying there for two more years. Four of the mother's other children had been removed from her care. MacDonald J found that the father had misrepresented the trip as a summer holiday. There was no evidence that the child's current school provision was equipped to meet his educational needs. The father himself was no longer in Ghana. MacDonald J was satisfied that the court retained jurisdiction, and ordered the child's return, making him a ward of court. Judgment, 14/06/2019, free
- The father applied for the summary return of his daughter to Israel. The mother claimed that the child had been habitually resident in England prior to the wrongful retention, and that returning her to Israel would place her at risk for the purposes of Art 13(b) of the 1980 Convention. MacDonald J found that the mother's oral and written evidence had to be treated with some caution. He ruled that, despite the father's consent to the move, the child remained habitually resident in Israel, due to the unsettled situation in London. Sufficient protective measures were in place, and the court exercised its discretion to order that the child be returned to Israel. Judgment, 31/05/2019, free
- Contrary to court orders, the father had wrongfully taken his son – a young man of nineteen with profound learning disabilities – to live in the USA. The mother sought an order for his return to the UK. Russell J DBE held that there were grounds for finding that a return to the UK was not in the young man's best interests. The child's future as an adult lay in the USA and these proceedings were to come to an end in recognition of that fact. The appropriate forum for any future litigation was the court in Texas. Judgment, 15/04/2019, free
- Wife's application for leave to amend her petition for divorce from the residual ground of sole domicile, to indent 2 of Article 3(1)(a) of Council Regulation 2201/2003 - namely, that the petitioner and respondent were last habitually resident in England and Wales and that the petitioner still resides in this jurisdiction - was refused. Judgment, 22/03/2019, free
Latest know-how
- In a tweet: An application made by a father seeking a return order to Spain in respect of his daughter. Case note, 23/09/2019, free
- In a tweet: Unsuccessful application brought by father of twin boys for their return from China to this jurisdiction pursuant to inherent jurisdiction of the High Court. Case note, 13/09/2019, members only
- In a tweet: Successful application by a father (“F”) for return of the child to a state other than the one in which the family had been habitually resident when the wrongful removal occurred. Case note, 08/07/2019, free
- In brief: A preliminary ruling from the ECJ determined that in order to establish habitual residence under Article 8 BIIR, a child must be physically present in the member state. The circumstances of the child being physically present elsewhere are irrelevant. This was a referral from the English High Court where the father ("F") had allegedly coerced the mother ("M") into remaining in Bangladesh with the child, potentially in breach of their ECHR rights. Case note, 17/12/2018, members only
- The Romanian court sought a preliminary ruling from the European Court of Justice about interpreting Article 15 where two member states have jurisdiction, one under Article 8, the other under Article 12 Case note, 17/12/2018, members only
Latest training
- 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
- Timothy Scott QC rounds up all the latest developments in international family law touching on case law and policy developments such as how the Maintenance Regulation is operating 2 years on, an update on BIIR cases and staying proceedings and Hemain injunctions. Webcast, 09/10/2013, members only