Mother ordered to return child to home country under Hague Convention

A mother who “gambled” that she would get away with absconding with her daughter to England has been told she must return the child to her own country under the Hague Convention.

Sarah Tweedie, Associate Solicitor in our Family Law team reports.

The case concerned a Romanian couple and their 9-year-old daughter.

The mother brought the girl to England without the father’s agreement in 2023. She accepted that she was habitually resident in Romania at the time and that the father had rights of custody.

She originally claimed that the father had agreed to the daughter’s removal to England but withdrew that claim before the trial.

That meant that the mother’s only argument against the father’s claim for a return order under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction was that the daughter objected to being forced to go back to Romania.

The judge therefore had to determine whether the daughter had attained an age and degree of maturity at which it was appropriate for the court to take account of her views.

The evidence from the family court adviser who had spoken to the daughter said that she “contrasted Romania unfavourably with life in England”. 

Her view about her father was said to be “one-dimensional” and possibly reflected the mother’s “narrative” about life with her father.

The Family Court Adviser added that there was nothing the daughter was overly worried about should she return to Romania, except that she would miss her school, and wanted to be with her family.

The judge found that a return order should be made because: “Even though I have found that C (the daughter) objects to a return to Romania, I do not find this to be a strong objection; she told the Family Court Adviser that she would feel “a bit awkward and sad if the judge decided that she should return to Romania”; there was nothing about a return about which she was overtly worried.

“I find that [the mother] hoped or expected that, in presenting the father with a fait accompli once she was here, he would not protest. But he did. I know that the mother will be deeply disappointed by my decision, but I regret that the gamble has not paid off.”

If you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of family law please contact Sarah on 01434 603656 or click here to send her an email.