AF v AM
| Court | Family Division |
| Judge | Mr David |
| Neutral Citation | [2025] EWHC 799 (Fam) |
| Date | 02 April 2025 |
| Year | 2025 |
| Counsel | Mr Graham Crosthwaite,Mr Jonathan Evans |
Judgment Approved by the Court for Handing Down AF v AM - Re D (A Child)(Abduction: Article 13(b))
No: FD24P00469
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
FAMILY DIVISION
IN THE MATTER OF THE CHILD ABDUCTION AND CUSTODY ACT 1985
AND IN THE MATTER OF THE SENIOR COURTS ACT 1981
AND IN THE MATTER OF D (A CHILD)
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 2 April 2025
Before:
MR DAVID REES KC
(Sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court)
(In Private)
BETWEEN
:
AF
Applicant
and
AM
Respondent
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Mr Graham Crosthwaite (instructed by Shepherd Harris & Co) for the Applicant
Mr Jonathan Evans (instructed by Duncan Lewis) for the Respondent
Hearing date: 1 April 2025
1
Judgment Approved by the Court for Handing Down AF v AM - Re D (A Child)(Abduction: Article 13(b))
I direct no official shorthand note shall be taken of this Judgment and that copies of this Judgment
as handed down may be treated as authentic
David Rees KC, Deputy High Court Judge
This judgment was delivered in private. The judge has given leave for this version of the
judgment to be published on condition that (irrespective of what is contained in the judgment)
in any published version of the judgment the anonymity of the children and members of their
family must be strictly preserved. All persons, including representatives of the media, must
ensure that this condition is strictly complied with. Failure to do so will be a contempt of
court.
2
Judgment Approved by the Court for Handing Down AF v AM - Re D (A Child)(Abduction: Article 13(b))
Mr David Rees KC:
1. 1This is an application under the 1980 Hague Convention for the summary return of a
child (D) to Australia.
2. D is currently 3 years old. He was born in Australia, but since February 2024 he has been
living in the UK with his mother. The mother is British by birth but has lived in
Australia since 2016 and has acquired Australian citizenship. The father is an Australian
citizen, and I understand that D has dual British and Australian nationality.
3. In 2021 both parties were living in Australia. They met in March of that year and they
had been in a relationship for only a few months when the mother became pregnant. The
child, D, was born early in 2022. There are disputes about the nature of the relationship
and the extent to which it was characterised by physical and emotional abuse of the
mother by the father. I deal with these allegations in greater detail below.
4. However, matters came to a head at Christmas 2023 when the father threw a vacuum
cleaner against a door in the presence of the mother and child. Again, the precise details
of this incident are disputed. However, what is not in dispute is that on this occasion the
Police were called and attended. Having spoken to the mother and attempted to speak to
the father, what is described as a “Police Protection Notice” was issued against the father
under the relevant State statute. From its terms I understand this notice to require the
3
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