fbpx

High Court Exercises Inherent Power to Order Children's Return to England

1st February 2022 By

Many families have one foot in the UK and another abroad and that can give rise to parental disagreement as to where their children should live. Wherever in the world British children may be, however, family judges in this country have an inherent power to make decisions as to where their best interests lie.

The point was made by a case concerning two teenagers who were born in the UK but who had dual British and Pakistani nationality. They had for several years been living with relatives in Pakistan, whilst their parents remained in England. Following the acrimonious breakdown of the marriage, the mother obtained orders protecting the children against the risk of forced marriage in Pakistan. She sought further orders requiring their return to Britain.

Due in part to the length of time they had spent in Pakistan, the children had become habitually resident there. They remained British citizens, however, and the High Court ruled that there were compelling reasons why it should exercise its inherent power to step into their parents’ shoes and take responsibility for their welfare by directing their return to this country.

The Court broadly accepted the mother’s evidence that the father had exerted control over her and the children during the marriage. It found that the original plan was that the children would stay in Pakistan only temporarily whilst the younger child underwent a religious form of education that she had now completed. Both children had recently expressed their wish to return to the UK.

There were worries about the state of health of their primary carer in Pakistan, their grandmother, and the Court expressed deep concern about Instagram messages posted by the younger child which referred to the possibility of suicide. The Court ordered the father to bear the costs of returning the children to England and the period of COVID-19 quarantine that they would have to undergo. Directions were given for a further hearing within 48 hours of their arrival in England.

Source: Concious

Latest News

Tenants Can Purchase Freehold When Landlord Cannot Be Found

11th June, 2024 By

The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 gives qualifying leaseholders the right to join together to buy the freehold of their properties – a process known as collective enfranchisement. A recent case demonstrated that this right can be exercised even when the landlord cannot be found. The leaseholders of two flats in a terraced house wished to purchase it from the landlord, but were unable to ascertain his whereabouts and therefore could not serve notice on him under Section 13 of the Act. They therefore applied for an...

Court Refuses to Set Aside Divorce Order Applied for by Mistake

6th June, 2024 By

While the courts have a range of powers to set aside orders, they will only exercise them in limited circumstances. In a somewhat surprising case that has attracted much comment, the High Court declined to set aside a final order of divorce that had been applied for by mistake. A couple separated in January 2023, after more than 21 years of marriage. In October that year, while financial remedy proceedings were still ongoing, the wife's legal representatives inadvertently applied for a final order of divorce in respect of her instead...

Waiting Time for Grants of Probate Falls

3rd June, 2024 By

Following concerns last year about delays in processing probate applications, recent figures from HM Courts and Tribunals Service show that waiting times for grants of probate are continuing to improve. The average time from submission of a probate application to probate being granted fell to 11.3 weeks in March 2024, a decrease from 13.7 weeks in February and 13.8 weeks in January. This is the lowest figure since March 2023, when the average was 10.8 weeks. The longest waiting time since then was in November, at 15.8 weeks: that month,...

Late Appeal Against Tax Penalties Rejected

31st May, 2024 By

It is incumbent on taxpayers to make sure they fully comply with their obligations to file returns and pay any tax due. The point was illustrated by a recent case in which a taxpayer whose return had not been received by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) failed to persuade the First-tier Tribunal (FTT) that he should be permitted to appeal against the resulting penalties. On the evening of 31 January 2014, the man had completed his 2012/13 Income Tax return on HMRC's website. Shortly afterwards he went to Cyprus, and...