Osman v Elasha: CA 24 Jun 1999

The court was asked to make an order for return of three children from the Sudan.
Held: The court emphasised ‘the importance of according to each state liberty to determine the family justice system and principles that it deems appropriate to protect the child and to serve his best interests’ and ‘the further development of international collaboration to combat child abduction may well depend upon the capacity of states to respect a variety of concepts of child welfare derived from differing cultures and traditions. A recognition of this reality must inform judicial policy with regard to the return of children abducted from non-member states.’

Judges:

Thorpe, Stuart Smith and Pill LJJ

Citations:

[1999] EWCA Civ 1669, [2000] Fam 62

Statutes:

Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

Jurisdiction:

England and Wales

Cited by:

CitedRe J (A Child), Re (Child returned abroad: Convention Rights); (Custody Rights: Jurisdiction) HL 16-Jun-2005
The parents had married under shariah law. They left the US to return to the father’s home country Saudi Arabia. They parted, and the mother brought their son to England against the father’s wishes and in breach of an agreement. The father sought . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.

Children, International

Updated: 21 January 2023; Ref: scu.146584