The High Court has refused a mother’s application for her five-year-old daughter’s return to Dubai, instead granting an application by the girl’s father for her to remain in England.
The mother and father had married in 2019 and moved to Dubai, where the girl was born in February 2020. All three were British citizens. The mother and father separated six months later and had since been involved in extensive ongoing litigation concerning the girl. In November 2024, the father returned with the girl to the UK.
A report from the child’s court-appointed guardian stated that the girl loved her parents but had been caught in the middle of a pernicious dispute. In the guardian’s view, it was likely that both of the girl’s parents were encouraging her to say things that would support their applications, and she was thus not convinced that the girl’s wishes and feelings in terms of where she would like to live were authentically her own. The guardian considered the case finely balanced but recommended that the girl remain living in England.
The Court observed that a powerful factor in the welfare analysis was the need to firmly end the litigation. It had more confidence that this would happen if the girl remained in England. If she were in Dubai, the Court might retain jurisdiction but there would be a significant risk of litigation before the courts there. The Court accepted that the girl’s relationship with her mother would be seriously impaired if she remained in England, but was driven to the conclusion that that would be less harmful to her than the damage that would be caused by ongoing litigation. The fight over the girl had transformed the mother and father from being caring and loving parents, exercising the responsibility of parenting, into tactical litigants focused on gathering evidence to put into witness statements for the next hearing.
The girl had lived in in England for almost 11 months. The father’s evidence demonstrated how her physical and educational needs were being met: she had benefited from being in full-time education, establishing a clear routine and making friends. The Court accepted that there were some questions about whether the parents could afford school fees for her in the United Arab Emirates.
The Court refused the mother’s application for the girl to relocate to Dubai and granted the father’s application for leave for her to remain in England. The Court also made a ‘spends time with’ order under Section 8 of the Children Act 1989, allowing the mother to speak with her daughter by video regularly and to spend time with her during the school holidays. With a view to preventing further litigation, an order was also made prohibiting the parents from making further applications without the Court’s permission.
