The recent case of A Mother v A Father [2024] EWFC381(B) heard at the Family Court in Reading is a very helpful and useful reminder of the Court’s approach when considering matters where there is an application for the children to be permanently removed from the jurisdiction.
In her judgement, Her Honour Joanna Vincent helpfully summarises the Court’s approach but also gives useful indicators of areas in the father’s evidence which meant that the Court ultimately favoured the mother’s evidence. It is a timely and useful reminder of the importance of ensuring that cases are properly prepared and that the evidence presented to the Court is accurate and complete.
Application for permanent child relocation
In this case, an application was made by the mother for permission to allow the mother to permanently relocate with the two children of the family to Australia with their step-father who was an Australian citizen. In reaching the decision to allow the mother’s application, the paramount consideration for the Court was for the welfare of the children in line with section 1 of the Children Act and the Court applied the principles outlined in Re C (a child) [2019] EWHC131 (Fam) for assessing international relocation cases, including conducting a holistic valuation of the proposals from both parents. In summary, the key principles are:
- In assessing paramount welfare in international relocation cases, the Court must carry out a holistic and non-linear valuation of the plans proposed by each parent. In complex international relocation cases, this may need to be with some sophistication and complexity.
- In addition to article 8 rights, it is important to factor in the rights of the child to maintain personal relations and direct contact with both parents on a regular basis unless this is contrary to the child’s interests.
- The Court must take into account the article 8 rights of the parents. In the usual case, the child’s article 8 rights will take priority over the parents but that should not cause the Court to overlook the article 8 rights of other effected and the Court should balance the competing article 8 rights.
- The likely effect of an international relocation is that article 8 rights of a child are likely to be infringed, and the Court must consider the issue of the proportionality of the interference. There remains some degree of uncertainty as to how the proportionality of valuation is to be applied in relocation cases. In practice the proportionality issue will be subsumed with an overall holistic evaluation when considering the effect of change and risk of harm.
The decision of the Court
The Court found in making its decision that the mother’s evidence was to be preferred to that of the father. The mother’s evidence was seen to be cogent, precise and clear. The mother’s evidence was said to be considered and she was able to give a clear explanation of the actions she had taken. This was in stark contrast to the evidence of the father. Whilst the Court did not doubt his love for his children, his evidence was such that most of the significant assertions made in his written statements were not supported by any contemporaneous evidence and a number of times, letters, emails or screenshots of messages directly contradicted what he had said. The father was not able to give a coherent narrative in his oral evidence which matched what he had said in the applications or witness statements filed in the proceedings. There were often significant gaps in the account that he gave which meant that he was not able to fill or explain.
Next steps when relocating or opposing relocation
It is imperative whether you are seeking to relocate or whether you are seeking to oppose relocation plans to ensure that you obtain expert legal advice at the earliest opportunity. It is important that any written documentation or application made to the Court is carefully considered and thought out, particularly bearing in mind that international relocation cases, more often than not, are those which require to be determined at a final hearing given the very binary outcomes of those applications. They are either granted or they are not, often leaving one parent bitterly disappointed.
At Stephens Scown we have a team of specialist children solicitors who are experienced in international relocation cases and are able to help and assist you. Get in touch today on 0345 450 5558 or enquiries@stephens-scown.co.uk