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Just how significant are parental intentions in determining a child’s habitual residence?

Date:19 MAY 2015
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Helen Blackburn (Partner) and Mandeep Gill (Associate Solicitor)  International child law specialists at The International Family Law Group LLP

Most international child lawyers may have thought that the concept of habitual residence had been determined by a trio of children cases heard by the UK Supreme Court during the last 2 years (Re A (Jurisdiction: Return of Child) [2013] UKSC 60 [2014] 1 FLR 111Re KL (Abduction: Habitual Residence: Inherent Jurisdiction) [2013] UKSC 75 [2014] 1 FLR 772 and Re LC (Reunite: International Child Abduction Centre Intervening) [2014] UKSC 1 [2014] 1 FLR 1486). 

It is now settled law that the same definition of habitual residence applies in all children cases (domestic children cases Hague Convention cases etc) and mirrors that which has been adopted by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). Habitual residence is a question of fact and the child’s own state of mind can be a relevant consideration when considering the question of the habitual residence of an adolescent.

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