Family Law

(Family Division; 27 July 2007; Roderic Wood J)

The judge declined to enforce a Polish contact order, although the registration of the order stood. The child's interests and welfare were paramount and the child's circumstances required a completely fresh approach. Because the child was habitually resident in England, the provisions of Art 8 of Brussels II (Revised) operated and litigation to vary or discharge aspects of Polish order was to take place in England. The mother's hostility to the father had increased since the making of the order, and it would be wholly inadvisable to regard the Polish order as a template for contact without adopting a very much more careful approach to issues such as the venue, duration and timetable. The judge ordered periods of visiting access before a move to staying contact, involving a neutral person to escort the child from her mother's care to the care of her father.

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