GU24P07346 - [2025] EWHC 1224 (Fam)

The law

The law can be simply stated. The court must have regard to the circumstances set pout at s1(3) of the Children Act 1989, within the overarching framework that under s1(1) of the Act the child’s welfare is the court’s paramount consideration. The decisions in In Re J (A Child) (Child Returned Abroad: Convention Rights) [2005] UKHL 40; [2006] 1 AC 80 and Re NY (A Child) [2019] UKSC 49; [2020] AC 665 are on point. Although both concerned abduction of a child, as opposed to consensual relocation, it seems to me that the general principles are similar, save that the fact of agreement to move abroad is likely to be a factor of considerable weight..

The wishes and feelings of a child must be considered (per s1(3)(a) of the Act “in the light of his age and understanding”. Every case is fact specific, and the weight to be attached to a child’s wishes will vary. However, it seems to me that the clear views of a mature teenage child nearly 15 years old, freely expressed and genuinely held, are likely to attach considerable weight absent good reason to the contrary.