A and R (1980 Hague Convention: Return to Australia), Re
| Judge | Mr Justice Cobb |
| Neutral Citation | [2024] EWHC 2190 (Fam) |
| Court | Family Division |
| Year | 2024 |
| Counsel | Beverly Roberts,Mani Singh Basi |
| Date | 21 August 2024 |
Neutral Citation Number: [2024] EWHC 2190 (Fam)
Case No: FD24P00282
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
FAMILY DIVISION
IN THE MATTER OF THE CHILD ABDUCTION AND CUSTODY ACT 1985
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand, London, WC2A 2LL
Date: 21/08/2024
Before :
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE COBB
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Between :
GT Applicant
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LT Respondent
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Re A and R (1980 Hague Convention: Return to Australia)
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Beverly Roberts (instructed by WBW, Solicitors, LLP) for the Applicant (father)
Mani Singh Basi (instructed by Ellis Jones Solicitors LLP) for the Respondent (mother)
Hearing dates: 20-21 August 2024
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Approved Judgment
.............................
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE COBB
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.
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE COBB
Approved Judgment
Re A and R (1980 Hague Convention: Return to Australia)
THE HONOURABLE MR JUSTICE COBB :
Introduction
1. The application before the court, dated 4 July 2024 , concerns two children, who I
shall refer to as A and R. They are the only children to be born to the relationship of
the Applicant (“the father”), and the Respondent (“the mother”). A, a boy, is 5 years
old; R, a girl, is almost 3 years old.
2. The application is brought under the 1980 Hague Convention on The Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction (“the 1980 Hague Convention”) as incorporated by
summary return of A and R to Australia.
3. The mother opposes the application. The arguments which have been pursued before
me are as follows:
i) That immediately before the alleged retention (the date of which is now agreed
to be 19 November 2023), the children had become habitually resident in
England; accordingly the retention was not wrongful (Article 3 of the 1980
Hague Convention);
Alternatively:
ii) That a return of the children to Australia would expose them to a grave risk of
physical or psychological harm, or otherwise place them in an intolerable
situation (Article 13(b) ibid.) as a consequence of:
a) The domestic abuse which the mother alleges the father perpetrated
upon her during their relationship, the impact of this on A and R, and
the potential for this to continue;
b) The mother’s mental ill-health, and the risk to A and R’s wellbeing if
she, as their main carer, returns with them, or they return without her.
iii) That, on the basis that the Article 13(b) exception is made out on one or other
of the grounds identified above, the court should exercise its discretion not to
return A and R to Australia
4. The mother had earlier indicated an intention to pursue other grounds of defence,
including that the father had acquiesced to the children remaining in this country
(Article 13(a) ibid.); she also sought to argue that the date for determining the habitual
residence of the children should be mid-January 2024 (rather than November 2023).
However, at the outset of the hearing, through Mr Basi, she abandoned these points.
5. It is not disputed that the father has rights of custody, and that he was exercising them
at the material times.
6. For the purposes of determining this application, I have:
i) Read the bundle of documents, including the lengthy statements of the parents
and their multiple exhibits;
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2 cases
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H v O (Art 13(b) and Domestic Abuse)
...harm and the intolerable situation identified by this court. As it was put by Cobb J in Re A and R (1980 Hague Convention: Return to Australia) [2024] EWHC 2190 (Fam), the court must consider whether those protective measures would be truly effective to meet the needs of the children and th......
-
H v O (Art 13(b) and Domestic Abuse)
...intolerable situation identified by this court. As it was put by Cobb J in Re A and R (1980 Hague Convention: Return to Australia) [2024] EWHC 2190 (Fam), the court must consider whether those protective measures would be truly effective to meet the needs of the children and the In consider......