High Court of Justice (England and Wales), Family Division

High Court of Justice (England and Wales), Family Division

United Kingdom - England and Wales

23 June 2021

The Child and Family Agency of Ireland v Mother, Father and A Local Authority

[2021] EWHC 1774 (Fam)

First instance

Article 8

Article 9

Children Act 1989, British Nationality Act 1981

Not provided

The Child and Family Agency of Ireland sought the acceptance by the English courts of a transfer request made by the District Court in Dublin under Article 8 of the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention. The proceedings concerned an infant born in Ireland whose parents had longstanding involvement with English child protection authorities and who had travelled to Ireland shortly before the child's birth. The Irish court concluded that England and Wales had a substantial connection with the child and was better placed to determine his long-term welfare. Keehan J reviewed the authorities on Article 15 of Brussels IIa, including Re LM and In the Matter of HJ, and held that there were no material differences between Article 15 and Article 8 of the 1996 Convention. Adopting the same procedural approach, the court accepted the transfer request, holding that the child's best interests required the proceedings to continue in England and Wales, where the relevant evidence, family history and potential placement options were located.

The High Court accepted a request made by the Irish courts under Article 8 of the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention for the transfer of public law care proceedings concerning an infant child from Ireland to England and Wales. The court held that the principles governing transfer requests under Article 15 of Brussels IIa applied equally to Article 8 of the 1996 Convention and accepted jurisdiction after concluding that the transfer was in the child's best interests. An interim care order was made in favour of the designated English local authority.

Not provided