Mavis Amonoo-Acquah in CT (A Child), Re (Abduction: Art 13b: Mental Health) [2026] EWHC 1590 (Fam)
7th Jul 2026 | Cases
Mavis Amonoo-Acquah was instructed by Dawson Cornwell for the respondent mother in CT (A Child), Re (Abduction: Art 13b: Mental Health) [2026] EWHC 1590 (Fam); an application by a father for summary return of child to Australia. Mavis was led by Christopher Hames KC of 4PB.
This judgment concerned a father’s application under the 1980 Hague Convention for the summary return of his two-year-old son to Australia following the child’s wrongful removal by the mother. The mother opposed the application, relying on the Article 13(b) defence of grave risk of harm.
Dismissing the application, the court concluded that, although the mother’s allegations of domestic abuse would not alone have established the defence, they provided important context for her profound fear of returning to Australia. Accepting expert psychiatric evidence, the judge found that the mother’s moderate depression, generalised anxiety and poorly controlled type 1 diabetes were closely interconnected, with the stress of a return likely to trigger a significant deterioration in her mental and physical health. Despite extensive undertakings and proposed protective measures, the court held that the resulting impact on her ability to care for the child would expose him to a grave risk of psychological harm and an intolerable situation, thereby satisfying Article 13(b).
