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- The father applied for permission to appeal and for a stay with regards to an interim Child Arrangements Order made in order to permit the mother to take the child on a European holiday. Theis J found that there were grounds for permission to appeal, as a live with order made had not been not before the court as an issue to be determined. But there was minimal risk of the child not returning to this jurisdiction, and the jurisdiction which they were visiting had effective procedures in place that would swiftly ensure the child's return if required, which Theis J considered unlikely. Judgment, 02/12/2019, free
- The father applied for a transfer of residence, stating that his relationship with the children, aged 10 and 11, would constantly be thwarted if they remained with their mother. The mother had covertly recorded various meetings, including one between the children and the Guardian. The creation and modification dates of documents did not align with the dates on which she claimed to have supplied the documents. HHJ Bedford was also satisfied that she had deliberately misled education professionals involved in the children's lives, perpetuating allegations which had been tried and dismissed by the judiciary. Her interference in their relationship with their father had caused them emotional harm and would continue to do so, as long as she parented them solely. During an interval at court, and being aware of HHJ Bedford's findings, the parents agreed to share the care of the children on alternating fortnights, and the Guardian endorsed this plan. HHJ Bedford thus made a suspended residence order: complete transfer of residence to the father would take place only if the mother defaulted from their agreement. Judgment, 02/12/2019, free
- The father applied for the summary return of the daughter to Malta, pursuant to the Hague Convention 1980. The defence raised by the mother was that the child was not habitually resident there. The child was 21 months old and had lived initially and mostly in England, but had also spent time in Belgium, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Italy, Malta and France. None of the contemporaneous correspondence between the parents illustrated a desire on the part of the father for the daughter to return to Malta, held Mr Teertha Gupta QC, sitting as a High Court judge. The child's habitual residence was always in England because she moved too often to be integrated anywhere else. Any proceedings concerning her would need to be in the Family Court in England. Judgment, 02/12/2019, free
- The wife applied to strike out the husband's claim for damages in respect of deceit. A DNA test had revealed that he was not the biological father of their child. Two issues were before Cohen J: whether the tort of deceit could relate to paternity fraud between husband and wife, and, if it could, whether it could run as a separate cause of action in parallel with financial remedy proceedings, rather than being an abuse or obstruction of the court's process. As to the former, Cohen J's view was that the tort of deceit could exist between husband and wife in respect of intimate matters, but he did not need to make a concluded finding on this issue. By reference to CPR 3.4(2)(a) and (b) he found that the claim form and particulars of claim disclosed no reasonable grounds for bringing the claim, and were indeed an abuse of the court's process or otherwise likely to obstruct the just disposal of the proceedings. The claim was struck out. Judgment, 30/11/2019, free
- The mother applied to commit the father for contempt of court. They had met, married and lived in England. In 2018 they had travelled to Saudi Arabia, where the father had said they would thereafter remain. During a trip to Pakistan for a wedding, the mother had made arrangements to return to England, but had been prevented from bringing one of their two children. She commenced proceedings here on the basis that the child remained habitually resident in England and Wales, and the father was ordered to bring her back. He did not. Holman J was satisfied that the father had been fully engaged in the proceedings, and that he was fully aware of the precise terms of the order. He was now deliberately in contempt of court. However, the mother's wish was to have her daughter returned, not for the father to be imprisoned, and Holman J adjourned the question of sanction and sentence to a date not less than six weeks after the hearing, with no sentence to be served if the father did return the child. Judgment, 30/11/2019, free
- The father applied for the summary return of two young girls to the USA. Mr Robert Peel QC had to make a determination as to whether the Hague Convention was engaged and, if so, whether there were statutory exceptions to the principle that the children should be returned to the country of habitual residence for decisions as to their future to be made. He found that the father had not consented to any permanent removal of the children to this jurisdiction. He also found that the pattern of domestic violence and abuse was not such that the Article 13(b) threshold was crossed, nor did the question marks about the mother's immigration status in the United States establish an Article 13(b) defence. Mr Robert Peel QC proposed to make an order for return on the basis of the protective measures he outlined. Judgment, 29/11/2019, free
- The mother had been in Poland with the daughter for two years, after a wrongful retention. The Polish court had refused the father's application under the 1980 Hague Convention in view of allegations of sexual abuse made against the father and paternal grandfather. The father now applied for the daughter's return under Article 11(7) of Brussels II Revised. Mr Teertha Gupta QC, sitting as a deputy High Court judge, did not accept that the mother had been disenfranchised by the process. The question for him was whether it was in the child's best interests to return here, in order for a court to make enquiries and determinations about her best interests. The Guardian's position was that the child should be returned with immediate effect for assessment. Mr Teertha Gupta QC concluded that he had no alternative but to order the child's return. Judgment, 28/11/2019, free
- The mother applied for permission to relocate the daughter permanently to Kazakhstan, the mother’s home country. The legal test to be applied was the principle of the paramountcy of the child's best interests. Mostyn J's conclusion was that the mother's application was premature, and should not be granted before an internal relocation to London had been tried. He also ordered that the case be transferred back to the Family Court, the circumstances having not justified its transfer to the High Court. Judgment, 27/11/2019, free
- The children lived in England with their mother, an English journalist, and had regular and extended contact with their father, a Dutch government worker. The father applied to relocate the children to the Netherlands. Both were described as exceptional parents by the CAFCASS officer, who thus made no recommendation either way. HHJ Moradifar found both parents charming, intelligent and focused on their children's welfare, which was the paramount consideration. A lack of justification for interference with the current living arrangements led to the husband's application being dismissed, but the judge made a "joint live with order" that the children should live with their father during substantial parts of the holidays. Judgment, 12/11/2019, free
- The grandfather's application for a child arrangements order had been dismissed. He appealed that decision. HHJ Ahmed allowed the appeal. The first instance judge had applied the wrong criteria. The application had been dealt with as a substantive application, rather than an application for permission to issue the substantive application, and findings of fact had been incorrectly made. Robust case management has a place in family proceedings, HHJ Ahmed said, but it has its limits. The application for permission to apply for a child arrangements order would be listed before a different district judge. Judgment, 02/11/2019, free