B v G
[2023] EWHC 2752 (Fam)
In the matter of the Child E
10 March 2023
[2023] EWHC 584 (Fam)
High Court
A dad took his daughter from Spain to England. A judge decided the daughter's usual home was Spain, and the mom didn't agree to the move, so the daughter must go back to Spain by a certain date.
Key Facts
- •Mother applied for summary return to Spain of her 5-year-old daughter, E, from the father who had brought her to England from Spain on November 30, 2022.
- •Father opposed the application, arguing E was habitually resident in England and consented to the move.
- •Concurrent proceedings in Spain existed where the father agreed to return E to the mother.
- •The court considered E's habitual residence before the removal and whether the mother consented to the removal.
- •E had lived in England until June 2022, then moved to Spain with her mother, attending school there from September 2022 until November 2022.
Legal Principles
Habitual residence under Article 4 of the 1980 Hague Convention
1980 Hague Convention
Legal principles regarding habitual residence (summarized from Re B (a minor) (Habitual Residence) [2016] EWHC 2174 (Fam))
Re B (a minor) (Habitual Residence) [2016] EWHC 2174 (Fam)
Transfer of a child's habitual residence (from Re B (A child) [2016] UKSC 4)
Re B (A child) [2016] UKSC 4
Consent under Article 13 of the Hague Convention (summarized from Re G (Abduction: Consent/discretion) [2021] EWCA Civ 139)
Re G (Abduction: Consent/discretion) [2021] EWCA Civ 139
Return order under Article 12 of the 1980 Hague Convention
1980 Hague Convention
Outcomes
Order for E's return to Spain by March 22, 2023
E was habitually resident in Spain before her removal to England, and the mother did not consent to the removal. The father had already agreed to this return in Spanish proceedings.