Re C

This case concerned a dispute over child arrangements and the jurisdiction of the High Court to make a return order for a child taken to Pakistan by her mother without the father's consent.

TLDR:

• Father (F) applied for a Child Arrangements Order in Nottingham Family Court.
• Mother (M) took the child (C) to Pakistan without F's consent.
• F applied to the High Court for a return order under the inherent jurisdiction.
• The High Court dismissed the application, citing lack of jurisdiction and futility.

The relevant child, referred to as 'C', is a nearly 4-year-old UK national. The applicant, F, claimed to be C's father, while the respondent, M, denied this. F and M married in October 2019 and separated in July 2020. F was allowed occasional contact with C after her birth. In February 2021, F issued an application for a Child Arrangements Order in the Nottingham Family Court. However, on 12 April 2021, M left the UK with C and moved to Pakistan without F's knowledge or consent.

M has not engaged with the Nottingham proceedings, except a brief conversation with a Cafcass Officer in June 2021, where she denied F's paternity and accused him of violence. F's application for permission to remain in the UK was refused, and his appeal was adjourned pending the family proceedings. The Children Act proceedings were adjourned to allow F to apply to the Family Division for a return order.

On 24 April 2023, F applied to the High Court for orders under the inherent jurisdiction. Despite various hearings, M did not attend any, although she was aware of the proceedings. On 4 October 2023, Theis J ordered M to return C to the UK by 30 November 2023, but M did not comply. F then applied to restore the proceedings on 17 January 2024. By 29 February 2024, it was confirmed that M and C had not returned to the UK, and F admitted the sighting in Nottingham was a mistake.

The final hearing on 7 June 2024 aimed to determine the next steps. The court found that C was habitually resident in England until her removal in April 2021 but had become habitually resident in Pakistan by 24 April 2023. Consequently, the High Court did not have jurisdiction to make a return order under the 1996 Hague Convention or the Family Law Act 1986. The only remaining basis for jurisdiction was C's British nationality, but the court found no compelling circumstances to justify using the inherent jurisdiction.

The court dismissed F's application for a return order, citing the lack of evidence of risk to C in Pakistan and the futility of any order made by the UK court. The court also dismissed the private law Children Act application in the Nottingham Family Court, emphasizing that Pakistan is the appropriate forum for these matters.