fbpx

Cross-Border Child Abduction and Habitual Residence – Guideline Ruling

20th November 2020 By

A parent who wishes to move from one country to another with his or her child must first obtain the consent of the parent left behind. That principle of international law is easily stated but, as a guideline Court of Appeal ruling showed, applying it in a way that protects the child’s welfare is often a much more complicated matter.

The case concerned two children, aged six and eight, who were born in Germany, where they spent the first years of their lives. Both their parents were also born in Germany. After the parents’ marriage came to an end, the father agreed that the mother could move to England with the children for 12 months or so.

After disagreements arose concerning the level of contact between the children and their father, the parents engaged in mediation. An approximate date for the children’s return to Germany was agreed and a letter of intent signed by the parents stated in terms that the children’s home would remain in Germany.

The mother, however, later announced that she would not be returning to Germany with the children. She had by then formed a relationship with a man in this country, whom she had since married, and was heavily pregnant with his child. The children had settled quickly in England and were doing well at English schools.

The father’s response to the mother’s decision was to launch proceedings under the 1980 Hague Convention, which enshrines the international ban on cross-border child abduction. In ordering the mother to return the children to Germany, a judge found that they remained habitually resident in the country of their birth and it would not be intolerable for them to go back there.

In upholding the mother’s appeal against that outcome, the Court noted that she had always been the children’s primary carer and that they had predominantly lived in England for a year prior to her decision. Whilst not diminishing the importance of their links to Germany, the Court found that the extent of their integration and the stability of their lives with their mother in England meant that they had become habitually resident in this country. The father’s application was dismissed.

Source: Concious

Latest News

Retired Businessman's Final Will Ruled Invalid

2nd May, 2024 By

Having your will drawn up professionally by a qualified solicitor is always a sensible precaution, especially in later life. In a recent case, the High Court ruled that a retired businessman lacked testamentary capacity when he made a will less than three and a half years before he died at the age of 87. The man and his first wife were married for nearly 40 years and had four children. After her death he married again. In October 2015 he made a new will, revoking in most respects a will...

Company Owner's Negligible Value Claim Unsuccessful

29th April, 2024 By

When an asset falls in value to the point that it is almost worthless, it may be possible to make a negligible value claim under Section 24 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992. The asset will then be treated as if it had been sold and immediately acquired again, so that the loss can be set off against other income. For a claim to succeed, however, the asset must have become of negligible value during the time the claimant owned it. On 30 September 2017, a woman who...

Court Sanctions Leg Amputation for Man Lacking Mental Capacity

24th April, 2024 By

The courts are often called upon to sanction treatment for patients whose ability to make decisions for themselves is impaired. In a recent case on point, the Court of Protection had to decide whether it was in the best interests of a man with mental health issues to have his right leg amputated above the knee. The man, aged 60, was taken to hospital by his niece. He was found to have an ulcerated leg. He had a history of paranoid schizophrenia, and believed that the sores on his leg...

High Court Grants Parental Order Despite Previous Adoption

18th April, 2024 By

In law, adopted children are regarded as having been born to their adoptive parents. The Family Division of the High Court recently considered whether that fact precluded a parental order being granted under the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008 (HFEA) in respect of a child born via surrogacy. A couple who lived in the USA had entered into a surrogacy arrangement with another woman. An adoption order naming the couple as the child's parents had been made by a US court and was automatically recognised under UK law. However,...