Case Law Search

Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2)

Appeal dismissed, return ordered with undertakings offered

Appeal dismissed and return ordered; the standard required under Article 12(2) had not been met.

Rights of Access - Art. 21 | Interpretation of the Convention

Application to enforce foreign access order refused; Article 21 was held to create no rights in private law which a parent could directly enforce in respect of a child.

Removal and Retention - Arts 3 and 12

Application dismissed

Appeal dismissed as the Convention had not entered into effect between the United Kingdom and Ontario at the relevant date.

Aims of the Convention - Preamble, Arts 1 and 2 | Role of the Central Authorities - Arts 6 - 10

The court granted an order that the child should be restored into the care of the mother if he arrived within the jurisdiction in the immediate future.

Procedural Matters | Interpretation of the Convention

A direction was given that the Spanish Central Authority should be informed of the facts of the case. A further direction was given that the father should be advised of his Convention rights.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Procedural Matters

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

Appeal dismissed and return ordered; the child was habitually resident in Mexico at the moment of the retention.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Interpretation of the Convention

Appeal allowed; case remitted to the District Court.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Human Rights - Art. 20 | Issues Relating to Return

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

Appeal dismissed and return ordered; the child's place of habitual residence prior to the wrongful retention was Italy. The standard required under Article 20 had not been met.

Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2)

Return refused

Return refused; the District Court ruled that the retention of the children was wrongful but declined to order their return on the grounds that they were now settled in their new environment, eighteen months having elapsed between the retention and the commencement of judicial / administrative proceedings.

Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Procedural Matters

Return ordered

Return ordered; the actions of the father were insufficient to meet the standard required under Art. 13(1)(a) to show acquiescence.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Undertakings | Procedural Matters

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

Appeal dismissed and return ordered; the standard required under Article 13(1)(b) to indicate that the child would face a grave risk of harm had not been met.

Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Undertakings

Appeal dismissed, return ordered with undertakings offered

Appeal dismissed and return ordered, undertakings offered; the standard required under Article 13(1)(b) to indicate that the children would face a grave risk of harm had not been met.

Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

The Court of Appeal, in a majority ruling, held that the father had acquiesced in the removal of the children. The case was then remitted to the High Court to exercise its discretion whether or not to grant a return order.

Aims of the Convention - Preamble, Arts 1 and 2 | Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a)

Return refused

Return refused; the retention of the child was wrongful but that the father had acquiesced in terms of Article 13(1)(a). The court exercised its discretion not to order the return of the child.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Procedural Matters

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

Appeal dismissed and return ordered; the child had acquired a habitual residence in Australia at the time of the removal. The court further found that the mother had not acquiesced in the removal.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Rights of Custody - Art. 3

Article 15 declaration granted

Article 15 declaration granted; the retention was wrongful for it was in breach of rights of custody vested in the English court.

Aims of the Convention - Preamble, Arts 1 and 2 | Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2)

Appeal allowed, return ordered

Appeal allowed and return ordered; the retention was wrongful and neither Article 13(1)(a) nor Article 13(2) had been proved to the standard required under the Convention.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3

Appeal dismissed, application dismissed

Appeal dismissed and application dismissed; the child lost his Australian habitual residence upon leaving that State for the parents had agreed that the child should relocate to the United Kingdom. Consequently the child was not wrongfully retained in Scotland once the mother changed her mind about the relocation.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2)

Appeal dismissed, return refused

Appeal dismissed and return refused; the trial judge had been justified in finding that the standard required under Article 13(2) had been met in respect of the older boy and that the younger boy would face an intolerable situation if sent back alone.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

The appeal as it related to the older child was dismissed. The appeal as it related to the younger child was allowed. The court ordered the return of the younger child to England, notwithstanding that the siblings would be separated.