Aidan Vine KC

Call: 1995 / Silk: 2016

'Aidan has all the law at his fingertips and can explain it in a very understandable way.'
Chambers UK Bar 2025

Aidan is a leading silk with a practice that encompasses all aspects of family law including public and private law children’s cases (often with an international element), Court of Protection, conflicts of jurisdiction on divorce, matrimonial finance and cohabitation disputes, and civil litigation arising out of family law (human rights, local authority duties, and negligence). Named as Family Law KC of the Year at the 2023 LexisNexis Family Law Awards, Aidan is known for his calm and collected manner in court, highly persuasive style of advocacy, meticulous preparation, and excellent client care. He combines his expert technical legal knowledge with a practical and empathetic approach to clients. He has a busy first instance and appellant practice and has been recognised in the legal directories for his experience in both matrimonial finance and children law matters.

 

To instruct Aidan or for more information…

Call: 020 7353 6961
Email: clerks@harcourtchambers.co.uk

Practice Areas

Aidan has been described by Chambers and Partners as the “go-to person” for public law issues, including Human Rights Act claims. He acts for local authorities, parents, interveners and children in the most serious fatal injury, non-accidental injury and sexual abuse cases, as well as in cases with jurisdictional and international complexities, or related civil law issues. He regularly advises on the civil law consequences of local authority child protection decisions and service provision.

Notable Public Law Children cases


H and J (Placement Orders) [2024] EWCA Civ 429

Appeal by mother against placement orders made in respect of her two youngest children.


Slough Children First v Mother & Ors [2024] EWFC 31

Fact-finding in care proceedings. Found that fractures suffered by child were not perpetrated by either parent using force beyond that which it would be reasonable for a parent to use.


X (A child), Re [2023] EWFC 264 (B)

Application by local authority for permission to withdraw care proceedings, following receipt of medical evidence indicating that the parents were not to blame for the child’s injuries.


Coventry City Council v The Mother (BB) & Ors. [2023] EWHC 1284 (Fam)

Aidan was instructed by the local authority in this final hearing of care proceedings relating to a three year-old child whose parents are US citizens. All orders sought by the local authority were made. The child was placed with their maternal aunt and uncle in Florida, under a Special Guardianship Order. An earlier hearing AA v BB & Ors [2022] EWHC 2322 (Fam) included a Hague application and a challenge to jurisdiction.


J (Children: Reopening Findings of Fact) [2023] EWCA Civ 465 (28 April 2023)

Represented Child A. Care proceedings. Appeal by father of 2 of the children against decision to reopen allegation of sexual assault made against him by one of the children. Appeal dismissed.


A Council v H & Ors [2023] EWFC 47 (29 March 2023)

Care proceedings relating to two children, issued following death of sibling, who was found to have suffered metaphyseal fractures. Held, threshold not met.


Re W-A (Children) [2022] EWCA Civ 1118, [2022] 3 WLR 1235

An appeal against a decision that foreign convictions were admissible in evidence and carried presumptive weight that the offence had been committed in fact-finding in children’s cases.


Re CK (A Child: Fact-Finding) [2022] EWCA Civ 952

An appeal against findings of fact in a care case.


Re D (A Child) (Placement Order) [2022] EWCA Civ 896, [2022] 2 FLR 1293

An appeal against the making of a placement order.


A (Children) (Pool of Perpetrators), Re [2022] EWCA Civ 1348

The correct approach in uncertain perpetrator cases.


Re Y (A Minor) (No 2) (Brussels II Revised: Jurisdiction after Article 15 Transfer: Welfare) [2022] EWFC 69
Y (A Minor) (Brussels II Revised: Jurisdiction after Article 15 Transfer) [2021] EWFC 107
Re J (A Child: Residential assessment) [2021] EWFC B18 (09 April 2021)

An appeal by a local authority against the case management decision of District Judge.


Aidan appeared for one of the respondents in an alleged paedophile ring case with over 40 respondents, the judgments in this case are not yet published.


Re R (A Child) [2019] EWFC 28 (Fam)

Care proceedings, child with life limiting condition.


Re B (A Child) [2018] EWCA Civ 2127 (Fam)

The extent of the obligation to ‘put a case’ in cross-examination, and the correct approach to the ‘pool of perpetrators’.


H (A Child) v Northamptonshire County Council and the Legal Aid Agency [2017] EWHC 282 (Fam)

Human rights damages, procedure for issuing human rights claims where there are also care proceedings, and the operation of the legal aid charge.


Re TG (Care Proceedings; Case Management; Expert Evidence) [2013] EWCA Civ 5, [2013] 1 FLR 1250

Necessity of expert evidence, specifically necessity of biomechanical evidence in NAI/head injury cases.

Aidan is very experienced in relocation cases, and in high conflict private law cases generally. He has particular experience acting for children having to navigate these difficulties.

Notable Private Law Children cases


TRC (Father) v NS (Mother) (Extensions of Time; Composite Hearings) [2024] EWHC 80 (Fam)

Appeal from a decision to vacate a fact finding hearing in a dispute between parents about the terms of a child arrangements order.


C (Surrogacy: Consent) [2023] EWCA Civ 16

Appeal by surrogate & biological mother against parental order, on the ground that she had not given free & unconditional consent.


Re C (A Child) [2019] EWHC 131 (Fam)

Relocation appeal, concerning South Africa.


S v S (Relocation) [2017] EWHC 2345 (Fam)

Relocation case, acting for teenage children who intervened.

Aidan has been described as “a real star” in complex children cases involving jurisdictional disputes and has appeared in a number of international children cases, including at appellant level. He appeared in a number of the earlier contested Article 15 transfer cases, and has been actively engaged in cases in this area ever since, in both public law and private law cases. He regularly appears in child abduction cases with complex legal issues, both at first instance and on appeal.

Notable International Family Law cases


AA v BB & Ors [2022] EWHC 2322 (Fam) (12 July 2022)

An application under the Hague Convention 1980.


The Child and Family Agency (Ireland) v M & Ors [2018] EWHC 1581 (Fam)

Article 15 (Brussels II Revised) transfer into the jurisdiction of care proceedings that were started in Ireland.


Re GP (A Child) [2017] EWCA Civ 1677 (Fam)

Article 13b (‘Hague’) grave risk of harm to child if abducting parent returned to home country to face imprisonment for child abduction.


Re: H (A Child) (International Abduction; Asylum & Welfare) [2016] EWCA Civ 988, [2017] 2 FLR 527

Inherent jurisdiction, asylum rights and welfare assessments in (‘non-Hague’) proceedings for return orders.


Re D (A Child) [2016] EWHC 1154 (Fam)

Article 11(7) return orders, and ‘trumping orders’ securing the return of children abducted to the EU.


Re A & B (Children: Brussels II Revised: Article 15) [2014] EWFC 40

Article 15 (Brussels II Revised) transfer of jurisdiction from England and Wales.


Coventry City Council v A [2014] EWHC 2033 (Fam)

Article 15 (Brussels II Revised) transfer of jurisdiction from England and Wales, local authority obligations to trace family members and confidentiality from family members).

Aidan has an established matrimonial finance practice, and often advises on jurisdictional and cross-border issues, as well as cases where other technical legal issues have arisen. He has appeared in a number of intervener case with trusts, and trusts of land issues. He also regularly appears in cohabitation disputes.

Notable Family Finance cases


Brussels I Recast (2019)

Aidan appeared in a cohabitation dispute involving civil law matrimonial property regimes and the recognition of an Italian judgment under Brussels I Recast.


Ville de Bauge v China [2014] EWHC 3975 (Fam), [2015] 2 FLR 873

Divorce, financial remedy and Brussels II Revised lis pendens.

Aidan has an established Court of Protection practice, at first instance and on appeal. He acts in complex cases, at first instance and on appeal.

Notable Court of Protection and Medical Treatment cases


Brussels II Revised (2019)

Aidan appeared in court of protection proceedings where the issues were transfer of care proceedings from the family court, onward transfer of the proceedings to the EU under Art 15 (Brussels II Revised) and whether the inherent jurisdiction could be used to authorise deprivation of liberty before the jurisdiction of the court of protection had been established. The judgment in this case has yet to be published.

 

What the directories say

‘Aidan is a tenacious advocate; his written documents are always detailed and well-researched and in oral advocacy he will pursue his argument as far as he can.'
The Legal 500 UK Bar 2025

"Aidan is very calm and collected and he has the ear of the court. He presents things in a balanced and fair way and is very persuasive."
Chambers UK Bar 2024

"He has great client care and is absolutely meticulous. Aidan is a lovely person to work with as part of a team."
Chambers UK Bar 2024

'Aidan is a very effective advocate with an excellent grasp of the case. He can break down complex evidence and present it simply and understandably. He has the ear of the court and can be trusted in the most difficult of cases.'
The Legal 500 UK Bar 2024

‘Aidan is invariably thoroughly prepared for cases and is a tenacious advocate. He is fearless in the face of judicial intervention. In court, he is thorough and determined. His advocacy is calm and quietly persuasive.’ 'Aiden is keen and has impressive legal analytical skills. His arguments are extremely well-researched and presented calmly and expertly advanced to the court.’
The Legal 500 UK Bar 2024

“Aidan's advice and representation is of the highest quality.”
Chambers UK Bar 2023

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