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Latest Decisions

  • Added on: 11 August 2025 | Appellate Court

    Re F (A Child) (Habitual Residence) [2025] EWCA Civ 911 | UNITED KINGDOM - ENGLAND AND WALES | HC/E/UKe 1619

    Languages
    Full text download EN
    Summary available in EN
    Grounds

    Habitual Residence - Art. 3

    Order

    Appeal allowed, return ordered

    Article(s)

    3

    Ruling

    Appeal allowed, return ordered. 

  • Added on: 11 August 2025 | First Instance

    L v D [2025] EWHC 955 (Fam) | UNITED KINGDOM - ENGLAND AND WALES | HC/E/UKe 1618

    Languages
    Full text download EN
    Summary available in EN
    Grounds

    Removal and Retention - Arts 3 and 12 | Habitual Residence - Art. 3

    Order

    Application dismissed

    Article(s)

    3

    Ruling

    Application dismissed. The child’s habitual residence was in the UK and so the retention was not wrongful.

    Note that this decision was subsequently overturned on appeal in Re F (A Child) (Habitual Residence) [2025] EWCA Civ 911, INCADAT Case Number: 1619.

  • Added on: 5 August 2025 | Superior Appellate Court

    Res. N° 2022002048/2021 | COSTA RICA | HC/E/CR 1615

    Languages
    Full text download ES
    Summary available in ES
    Grounds

    Non-Convention Issues | Best Interests of the Child

    Order

    Appeal dismissed, return ordered

    Article(s)

    13(1)(b)

  • Added on: 30 July 2025 | First Instance

    "L. S., V. L. c/ V. M., J. A s/ Proceso especial común de familia con pretensiones" | NICARAGUA | HC/E/NI 1614

    Languages
    Full text download ES
    Summary available in ES
    Grounds

    Consent - Art. 13(1)(a) | Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Best Interests of the Child

    Order

    Return refused

    Article(s)

    1 13(1)(a) 12(2)

  • Added on: 26 July 2025 | First Instance

    M v A (No 2: Application to Set Aside Return Order) [2025] EWHC 1344 (Fam) | UNITED KINGDOM - ENGLAND AND WALES | HC/E/UKe 1613

    Languages
    Full text download EN
    Summary available in EN
    Grounds

    Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Procedural Matters

    Order

    Return refused

    Article(s)

    13(1)(b)

    Ruling

    There had been a fundamental change of circumstances as the mother was no longer willing to return to Poland. The judge set aside the initial ruling and refused the application for return based on the Article 13(1)(b) exception.

  • Added on: 26 July 2025 | Appellate Court

    Re R (Child Abduction: Parent's Refusal to Accompany) [2024] EWCA Civ 1296 | UNITED KINGDOM - ENGLAND AND WALES | HC/E/UKe 1612

    Languages
    Full text download EN
    Summary available in EN
    Grounds

    Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

    Order

    Appeal dismissed, return refused

    Article(s)

    13(1)(a) 13(1)(b)

    Ruling

    Appeal dismissed.

  • Added on: 15 July 2025 | Appellate Court

    da Silva v da Silva No. 25-1360 | UNITED STATES OF AMERICA | HC/E/US 1611

    Languages
    Full text download EN
    Summary available in EN
    Grounds

    Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2)

    Order

    Case remitted to lower court

    Article(s)

    12

    Ruling

    The case was remanded to the district court to determine whether, in the exercise of its equitable discretion, a return to Brazil is still appropriate despite the child’s "settled" status.

  • Added on: 15 July 2025 | First Instance

    Y (The Father) v Y (The Mother) (Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985, Re) [2025] EWHC 1598 (Fam) | UNITED KINGDOM - ENGLAND AND WALES | HC/E/UKe 1610

    Languages
    Full text download EN
    Summary available in EN
    Grounds

    Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Undertakings

    Order

    Return ordered

    Article(s)

    13(1)(b) 13(2)

    Ruling

    The court held that the exceptions under Article 13 of the 1980 Convention did not apply in this case and ordered the return of the children to Israel. 

  • Added on: 29 April 2025 | Appellate Court

    D. G. P. L c/ R. O. M s/ restitución de niños Expte N° 58981/2020 | ARGENTINA | HC/E/AR 1608

    Languages
    Full text download ES
    Summary available in EN | ES
    Grounds

    Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Procedural Matters

    Order

    Appeal dismissed, return refused

    Article(s)

    13(1)(b) 13(2)

    Synopsis

    Wrongful retention of a child approximately 12 years old at the time of judgment – national of Argentina and Uruguay – separated parents – father of Argentine nationality – mother of Uruguayan nationality – child born in Argentina and lived there until around age 4, then moved to Uruguay with his mother – application for international return initiated on August 19, 2020, before the Uruguayan Central Authority – appeal dismissed, return denied – key issues: Art. 13(1)(b) grave risk exception, child’s objection to return; procedural matters – returning the child would have entailed a grave risk of further psychological harm – the child's opposition to returning to Uruguay, considering his age and maturity, was decisive in denying the return – the Court indicated that mediation could be reopened to address the child's re-establishment of ties with his mother.

  • Added on: 12 February 2025 | First Instance

    H v O (Art 13(b) and Domestic Abuse) [2025] EWHC 114 (Fam) | UNITED KINGDOM - ENGLAND AND WALES | HC/E/UKe 1607

    Languages
    Full text download EN
    Summary available in EN
    Grounds

    Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Undertakings | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Non-Convention Issues

    Order

    Return refused

    Article(s)

    13(1)(b) 13(2)

    Synopsis

    Three children, 8-year-old boy (D), 6-year-old boy (Y) and 3-year-old girl (B), wrongfully removed - Parents divorced - Father national of Sudan - Mother national of Sudan - D and Y born in Egypt - B born in the Netherlands - Children subject to supervision order in the Netherlands, primarily cared for by the mother with the father allowed contact - Family lived in the Netherlands from 2020 until 2023 - Mother made serious allegations of domestic abuse against the father, including rape, beatings of her and the children, and a desire for B to undergo FGM - Mother wrongfully removed the children from the Netherlands on 6 or 7 July 2023, travelling by small boat to the UK - Father filed application for return with the High Court of England and Wales on 13 June 2024 - Return refused - Main issues: Article 13(b) - Domestic abuse allegations so severe that the risk of return was grave - Undertakings offered by the father were inadequate to be sufficient protective measures - D and Y opposed return but this did not constitute an objection for Article 13 purposes.