Mother of G and D v Belfast Health and Social Services Trust
| Jurisdiction | Northern Ireland |
| Judge | Coghlin LJ |
| Judgment Date | 30 June 2011 |
| Neutral Citation | [2011] NICA 55 |
| Date | 30 June 2011 |
| Court | Court of Appeal (Northern Ireland) |
| Year | 2011 |
CO3380580 07/068508
COHDSW
Neutral Citation No. [2011] NICA 55
Ref:
COG8214
Judgment: approved by the Court for handing down Delivered:
30/06/11
(subject to editorial corrections)*
IN HER MAJESTY’S COURT OF APPEAL IN NORTHERN IRELAND
________
ON APPEAL FROM THE HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE IN
NORTHERN IRELAND
________
FAMILY DIVISION
_________
IN THE MATTER OF THE FORCED MARRIAGES (CIVIL PROTECTION) ACT 2007
________
AND IN THE MATTER OF G AND D (MINORS)
________
BETWEEN:
THE MOTHER OF G AND D
Appellant;
-and-
BELFAST HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES TRUST
Respondent.
________
Before: Coghlin LJ, Hart J and Sir Anthony Campbell
________
COGHLIN LJ (delivering the judgment of the court)
[1] This is a consolidated appeal from three judgments of Stephens J sitting in the
Family Division delivered on 26 March 2010, 14 June 2010 and 8 February 2011. On 26
March 2010 Stephens J discharged a wardship order in respect of G and D then aged 12
and 14 respectively and, at his request, a draft Forced Marriage Protection Order
(“FMPO”) under Schedule 1 of the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 (“FMA”)
was made available by the respondent Trust to all parties for their consideration. On 14
June 2010 Stephens J confirmed the substantive terms of the FMPO, a copy of which order
is annexed to this judgment Appendix 1. On 8 February 2011 Stephens J ordered that
publication should be permitted of his second judgment but, since both the earlier
judgments were then under appeal, he stayed enforcement of any such publication
pending the decision of this court. For the purposes of the hearing before this court the
appellant was represented by Ms Higgins QC and Ms Farrell while the respondent Trust
CO3380580 07/068508
COHDSW
was represented by Mr Toner QC and Ms MacKenzie and Mr McGuigan appeared on
behalf of the Official Solicitor. The court wishes to express its appreciation of the industry
and professionalism of all counsel in their management and organisation of the complex
materials involved and their well prepared written and oral submissions.
Background facts
[2] The relevant background facts may be usefully summarised as follows:
(i) The appellant is the mother of six children of whom the youngest, G and D, are
both female and currently 14 and 15 years old. The appellant is a UK citizen who
was born and raised in Birmingham. When she was 17 years of age she married her
first cousin and lived for some 14 months in Pakistan. Following the marriage the
appellant moved to Birmingham in 1986 but she has been resident in Northern
Ireland since at least 1997.
(ii) In or about the beginning of 2005 the two eldest children S and T, both boys then
aged 16 and 17, were informed by their mother that their father would be taking
them on holiday to Pakistan in the summer. Between January and June 2005 the
boys overheard a number of whispered conversations between their parents in
which “arrangements for the marriage” and their mother reminding their father to
pick up jewellery in Birmingham before leaving for Pakistan were discussed.
However, it seems that neither boy felt that their suspicions were serious. After
spending some five days in Birmingham with their maternal grandmother the boys
and their father boarded an aircraft for the flight to Pakistan. A few hours into the
journey their father informed the boys that the purpose of the visit to Pakistan was
for them to be married and that he would brook no argument. Not surprisingly
both boys were shocked by this information and, initially, unwilling to comply with
their father’s demands.
(iii) In the course of a statement prepared for the purpose of wardship proceedings T
provided a detailed account of a horrifying degree of emotional and physical abuse
to which they were subjected by their father over the 4 or 5 days after their arrival
in Pakistan for the purpose of compelling them to take part in the marriage
ceremony. T described their condition at the end of this period in the following
terms:
“By the fifth day my dad had really worn us down. He said he
had our passports and threatened to take them home with him
and leave us behind. This really frightened ………. and me. We
knew that if we did not go along with this pretence my dad would
no longer be able to hold his head up in his village. He would be
seen as a disgrace to other family members as this was seen as
tradition throughout his family and anyone breaking this tradition
would be like an outcast and no longer respected. S and I decided
we could not take any more beatings or threats from our dad so
we eventually gave in to him.”
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1 books & journal articles
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City of Edinburgh Council v S. Forced Marriage in Scotland: The Legal Response
...Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 For England and Wales, and Northern Ireland,5 5 In respect of which, see Re G and D (Minors) [2011] NICA 55. the Forced Marriage (Civil Protection) Act 2007 (“the 2007 Act”) came into force on 25 November 2008. The 2007 Act inserted a new part 4A ......