The High Court has decided to ask the courts of England and Wales to assume jurisdiction in child care proceedings concerning a baby born in Ireland, finding that those courts were better placed to hear the case and that a request was in the child’s interests.
Mr Justice Birmingham delivered the judgment on 22 October 2013. The Health Service Executive (HSE) applied under Article 15 of Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 for a request to be made to the courts of England and Wales to assume jurisdiction. The judgment records that the court would discuss with counsel what was needed to give effect to its decision. It does not record that the English and Welsh courts had accepted jurisdiction or that the Irish proceedings had already been transferred.
The child, anonymised as K.R., was born on 30 December 2012. His mother, identified as C.R., had travelled from Britain to Ireland late in her pregnancy. The judge said it appeared established that she came to avoid social services intervention in Britain concerning her unborn child. The court was told that the nominated father was in doubt: another man had attended the birth presenting as C.R.’s partner. Few details were available about the father’s circumstances.
The judgment recounts that British social services had been involved with C.R. since August 2010, amid concerns about a relationship and domestic violence. Fourteen incidents were reported over 12 months. C.R.’s three other children had been removed from her care. Full care orders for two and a placement order for the third were made in November 2012; the third child had since been placed for adoption. C.R.’s appeal against those orders was dismissed on 6 December 2012.
After K.R.’s birth, gardaí used section 12 of the Child Care Act 1991 to prevent the baby being removed from hospital. Emergency and then interim care orders followed. The interim order had been extended from time to time. K.R. was placed with foster carers, and C.R. had access for three hours once a week. The judge said she had used that access without incident, though sometimes missed it while visiting her other children in Britain.
The judge found a particular connection to another Member State through K.R.’s British citizenship by descent and C.R.’s British citizenship. The judgment also said the child was entitled to Irish citizenship. The judge considered that witnesses, social services professionals, earlier child protection proceedings and assessments were based in England and Wales, creating substantial overlap with the Irish case. The child’s extended family and half-siblings were also there, with possible family placement and sibling contact identified as relevant considerations.
C.R. did not attend the hearing. The judge proceeded on the basis that she opposed transferring the proceedings. The decision was to request that the courts of England and Wales assume jurisdiction under Article 15.