Mehvish Chaudhry in P (Re Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 Incorporating the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction) (Rev1) [2024] EWHC 3208 (Fam)
18th Mar 2025 | Cases
Mehvish Chaudhry, instructed by Dawson Cornwell, represented the mother in P (Re Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 Incorporating the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction) (Rev1) [2024] EWHC 3208 (Fam); a successful application by mother for the summary return of child to Poland.
This case involved a mother seeking the summary return of her child P, aged 11, to Poland. The mother alleged wrongful retention by the father in England. The child, born in Poland, had been brought to England, with the mother’s consent, for a holiday with her father in July 2024 but was not returned to Poland in August, as agreed. On 13 September 2024 the mother made an application for summary return.
P stated that she did not want to go back to Poland but did not give a sound reason why, the court therefore viewed this statement as a symptom of being at the centre of a longstanding and intense parental conflict. The father raised defences under Article 13, claiming the mother had consented to the child’s permanent relocation and that returning the child would expose them to a grave risk of harm. However, the court determined that the father’s evidence was insufficient to substantiate these defences. Return ordered.
