The father sought the return to Spain of the family’s four children, the judge had ordered their return, but the mother absconded with them to Wales. They were found and two returned, but after a scene at the airport tow stayed. The mother now appealed against the order for all four children to return to Spain.
Held: The appeal faced an insuperable difficulty namely that none of the facts said to constitute grounds were fresh evidence. The order had been made in a correct fashion and had been within the court’s discretion on the facts presented. Furthermore there had been proceedings in Spain where both parties were present where findings had been made as to welfare issues, and ‘The whole purpose of the Hague application is to achieve the summary return of children wrongfully removed or retained in order to enable the court of the children’s habitual residence to take any welfare decisions arising out of parental conflict. That has now been achieved in Spain. Accordingly it seems to me that the role of this court is much diminished. ‘
Judges:
Thorpe, Elias, Black LJJ
Citations:
[2012] EWCA Civ 1511
Links:
Statutes:
Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Children, International
Updated: 13 November 2022; Ref: scu.470116