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

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

United Kingdom - England and Wales

25 March 2021

AA & BB

[2021] EWHC 890 (Fam)

First instance

Article 13

Article 11

Children Act 1989; Practice Direction 12J

Not provided

The parents, both Russian nationals, had commenced competing proceedings in England and Russia concerning their children. Following an earlier ruling that Article 13 would apply if the Russian court accepted jurisdiction, the Russian court subsequently determined that it had jurisdiction and made substantive orders concerning the children's residence. The issue before Holman J was the effect of that decision on the English proceedings. The court held that it should abstain from exercising substantive jurisdiction under Article 13 and rejected the father's argument that Article 11 justified further intervention. The judgment provides useful guidance on the procedural operation of Article 13 and the distinction between abstention and a formal stay of proceedings.

Following a Russian judgment accepting jurisdiction and making substantive orders concerning the children, the High Court held that, pursuant to Article 13 of the 1996 Hague Convention and an earlier English ruling, it should abstain from exercising substantive jurisdiction. The court declined to make further contact orders, declined to release the children's passports, and adjourned jurisdictional issues pending appeal and set-aside proceedings.

Not provided