Edward Bennett in A v B [2025] EWHC 764 (Fam)
15th May 2025 | Cases
Edward Bennett was instructed by Bindmans LLP for the Respondent Mother in A v B [2025] EWHC 764 (Fam); Father’s application for summary return of child from Dubai, and mother’s application for permission to remove child to Dubai.
The High Court addressed a Father’s application for the summary return of his child from Dubai to England, alongside the mother’s cross-application for permission to relocate the child to Dubai. The case presented complex issues of international family law, particularly concerning jurisdiction and the child’s habitual residence.
The father contended that the child’s removal to Dubai was wrongful under the Hague Convention, asserting that England was the child’s habitual residence. Conversely, the mother argued that the child had become habitually resident in Dubai and sought the court’s permission to formalise the relocation.
The court examined the child’s connections to both jurisdictions, the intentions of the parents, and the duration and stability of the child’s residence in Dubai. Emphasising the child’s welfare as paramount, the court concluded that the child had indeed acquired habitual residence in Dubai. Consequently, the father’s application for summary return was dismissed, and the mother’s application for relocation was granted.
