Recognition And Enforcement Of Overseas Orders ' Children

• Published date: 04 August 2023
• Subject Matter: Family and Matrimonial, Family Law
• Law Firm: Weightmans
• Author: Ms Kirsty Leedam

We provide guidance on how to enforce child arrangement orders overseas.

The Family Court in England and Wales makes child arrangements orders and other section 8 orders every day, which can be enforced by the same courts.

If you have an order made in another country in respect of your children, it may not necessarily be automatically enforceable in England and Wales.

Likewise, if you have an order from England and Wales, it may not be automatically enforceable in an overseas jurisdiction.

What you need to do to enforce your children order depends entirely on where the order was originally made, what has happened since that order was made, how long ago it was made, and what country your child is currently living in.

This area of law is very complex, and you should always seek expert legal advice if you have any questions.

Enforcing existing child arrangement orders of England and Wales in England and Wales

You may already have a child arrangements order of England and Wales, in which case enforcement proceedings are different again.

To enforce your existing child arrangements order, there must be a breach of the order by the other party and your existing children order needs a warning notice attached to it. If it does not have a warning notice attached to it, you will need one adding to the order before you can enforce the same.

The court cannot make an order for enforcement if the court feels that the person in breach of the order has a reasonable excuse for failing to keep to the order. You should seek advice on what may be considered to be reasonable or not. When the court is considering whether an order for enforcement should be made, they will consider the following:

• The reasons for the non-compliance;
• The effect of noncompliance on the child/children concerned;
• The welfare checklist including the best interests of the child/children involved;
• Whether advice from CAFCASS is required for moving forward;
• If the parents should attend any Separated Parents Information Programme or Dispute Resolution Programs
• Whether an enforcement order may be appropriate.

There are a number of enforcements remedies you can seek if there is a breach of a child arrangements order to include:

• An enforcement order or a suspended enforcement order
• Variation of the existing child arrangements order
• Referring parents to a course such as the Planning Together for Children programme, formally known as the Separated Parents Information Programme (SPIP)
• Order for compensation...