The High Court has directed the return of two children to England and Wales after finding that their mother had not established a defence under the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. The court has yet to settle the precise return arrangements or the wording of undertakings from their father.
The judgment was delivered by Ms Justice Reynolds on 17 August 2017. The children, identified in the judgment as E(R)R and E(D)R, had been living in England and Wales with their parents before their mother brought them to Ireland in July 2016. She accepted that the removal was wrongful and that she had not obtained the father’s consent.
The father sought their return through the Central Authority for England and Wales in December 2016. He began Irish court proceedings in April 2017. The mother argued that his failure to prevent her returning to Ireland with the children after a May 2017 contact visit amounted to consent or acquiescence. The judge rejected that argument, noting that the father had already taken steps to seek their return and that proceedings were pending.
The mother also argued that returning the children would expose them to physical or psychological harm or place them in an intolerable situation. The judge said the allegations of a history of abuse were unsupported by evidence. She found that the evidence did not establish grave risk and said the father had offered necessary undertakings to secure a smooth return.
A clinical psychologist’s report recorded that both children preferred to remain in Ireland. The older child, then 13, was considered sufficiently mature for his views to be taken into account. The younger child, then eight, was described as more susceptible to adult influence, so the court gave his views less weight. The judge concluded that their preference to stay did not amount to an objection to returning to England and Wales.
The court said the children should return before the new school year to minimise disruption. It did not set a specific date or finalise the arrangements in this judgment. The judge proposed hearing from the parties about the order’s wording, the father’s undertakings and arrangements for the children to travel in their mother’s care, pending an order from the High Court, Family Division, England and Wales.