Supreme Court Ruling On Removal Of Children

In the case of Re B (A Child) (Habitual Residence: Inherent Jurisdiction) [2016] UKSC 4 the Supreme Court (by a majority of 3:2) have delivered a judgment of huge practical significance which stops children being left in a legal limbo when they are removed from one jurisdiction and taken to another by one of their parents.

In short, the Supreme Court has allowed an appeal by a non-biological mother of a child, holding that the unilateral removal by the child's biological mother (in February 2014) to Pakistan did not result in the child losing her English habitual residence, and the English court therefore retained jurisdiction to make decisions about her welfare.

Rather than focusing on the intentions of the abducting parent, this landmark decision now means that the child is unlikely to lose their pre-existing habitual residence at the same time as the abducting parent.

The issues involved are particularly salient in the modern world where increasing numbers of families are becoming internationally...