The child abduction team at Lyons Davidson has had a very busy start to 2012, following a successful appearance in the Court of Appeal in December 2011, and is heading to the Supreme Court in February.
Child abduction
The case of S v C [2011] established that the decision of the Supreme Court in E (Children) (Abduction: Custody Appeal), Re [2011] was a restatement and not an evolution of the law relating to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 1980 Article 13(b), and that it did not introduce a lower standard for a respondent advancing an Article 13(b) defence. Article 13(b) provides a defence that there is a grave risk that the child will suffer physical or psychological harm or otherwise be placed in an intolerable situation on the return to the country they were wrongfully removed from or wrongfully retained away from.
Hague Convention
S v C is now due to be heard in the Supreme Court on 20 February 2012 to consider the approach that the court ought to take to the summary applications under the Hague Convention when Article 13(b) is engaged; and the application in this regard of the guidance given in Re E.
For more information on matters involving child abduction, contact Philippa Morgan on [email protected] or 0117 904 5923.
