Mehvish Chaudhry in A Father v A Mother [2024] EWHC 352 (Fam)
20th Mar 2024 | Cases
Mehvish Chaudhry, instructed by Freemans Solicitors, represented the Applicant Father in A Father v A Mother [2024] EWHC 352 (Fam) an application by Father for summary return of his children to Italy under the Hague Convention 1980. It was argued by the Mother that when the Father handed over his children’s passports to her on 19 December 2022, that this act amounted to acceptance by him of their departure with her for England. The court accepted the Father’s argument that if the giving of consent prior to the removal had the effect that the removal could never be classified as wrongful or in breach of the right of custody, then there would be no need for Article 13 at all, as clarified in Re P. (A Child) (Abduction: Acquiescence) [2004] EWCA Civ 971 . The parties were never married but were in a relationship for seven years. The Mother lived in England, where both the children were born, and the Father in Italy. Over the years the Mother and children did spend time in Italy with the Father but the court found that this had always been on a temporary basis. The application was dismissed following the finding that the children were not habitually resident in Italy on the relevant date.
