U (Welfare), Re
[2024] EWHC 583 (Fam)
U (Recognition and Enforcement of Orders under the 1996 Hague Convention), Re
1 November 2023
[2023] EWHC 3494 (Fam)
High Court
A dad wants a French court order about his child to be valid in the UK. One part of the order is okay, but another part is too old, so it's not used. The judge wants to help the child and avoid more delays.
Key Facts
- •U, born March 24, 2019, is at the center of a dispute between his parents.
- •Parents separated in summer 2020; mother took U to France in August 2021.
- •French courts issued orders in December 2021, July 2022, and September 2022 concerning U's custody and parental responsibility.
- •The father seeks recognition and enforcement of these French orders in the UK.
- •The mother opposes recognition and enforcement, arguing it infringes UK principles of parental responsibility.
Legal Principles
Recognition and enforcement of foreign child protection measures under the 1996 Hague Convention.
1996 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption
Parental responsibility in English law; it cannot be removed from a mother.
English Family Law
Procedural requirements for recognition and enforcement of foreign orders under FPR rule 31 and FPR Practice Direction 31A.
Family Procedure Rules 2010
Jurisdiction of English courts to make orders restricting the exercise of parental responsibility.
English Family Law
Outcomes
The July 2022 French order is recognized and enforceable in the UK.
The mother conceded that no grounds for refusal under Article 23(2) of the Hague Convention applied.
The September 2022 French order is deemed to have expired.
The order's own terms stipulated expiry unless an application was made to the issuing French court within a year; no such application was made to that court.
The father's application for recognition and enforcement of the May 2023 order is dismissed.
The May 2023 order was simply a refusal of an appeal, not a substantive order requiring recognition.
Procedural irregularities in the father's application are overlooked.
The court deemed the application sufficiently compliant given the circumstances and the need to avoid further delay.