Family Law

Keywords: Relocation – leave to remove – case outcomes – judicial decision-making

There has been considerable controversy over the approach taken to international relocation disputes by the courts of England and Wales, but little has been known about how first instance judges approach such decisions in ‘everyday’ relocation cases. This article reports the findings of an empirical study in 2012 which looks at case outcomes and judicial reasoning in international relocation disputes based on the decisions of trial judges and the reports of lawyers. The article analyses case characteristics and some factors which may influence case outcomes, and explores the judicial reasoning used to reach those conclusions.