N (A Child) (Ukraine: Art. 13 (b)) (No. 2), Re
[2024] EWHC 1282 (Fam)
A (Article 13b, Ukraine), Re
1 December 2023
[2023] EWHC 3524 (Fam)
High Court
A mother took her daughter from Ukraine to the UK, claiming the father was abusive. A UK court ordered the daughter's return to Ukraine because the father agreed to safety measures to protect the mother and child. The court decided this was best for the child despite the war in Ukraine (which wasn't impacting their area).
Key Facts
- •Father (applicant) seeks return of daughter A (born December 2019) from mother (respondent) under the Hague Convention.
- •Mother opposes return, citing Article 13b (grave risk of harm due to father's alleged domestic abuse).
- •Parties are Ukrainian nationals, married 26 years, currently separated.
- •Mother left Ukraine in January 2023, taking A to Greece then UK.
- •Prior Ukrainian court proceedings addressed domestic abuse allegations, with conflicting findings.
- •Father agrees to protective measures (confidential accommodation, financial support) in Ukraine.
- •No family members in UK except mother's brother.
Legal Principles
Hague Convention 1980, Article 13b: A child's return can be refused if there is grave risk of harm.
Hague Convention 1980
Court considers evidence of domestic abuse allegations, even if not definitively proven in prior proceedings.
Case law and court interpretation
Court considers protective measures offered by father in mitigating risk of harm.
Case law and court interpretation
Child's best interests are paramount.
General legal principle
Outcomes
Order for child's return to Ukraine.
Court found that father's offered protective measures sufficiently mitigate the risk of harm, outweighing the mother's concerns, and that it is in the child's best interests to return to Ukraine.