[2016] UKSC 34
UKSC 2016/0048
In the matter of D (A child)
On appeal from the Court of Appeal Civil Division (England and Wales)
This was a preliminary hearing concerning the issue of jurisdiction.
The substantive case relates to whether there is a fundamental principle of procedure in England and Wales, for the purposes of Article 23(b) of Council Regulation (EC) 2201/2003, that a child must be given an “opportunity to be heard” in every disputed custody case, or that the Court consider giving the child such an opportunity; (ii) if either such principle exists, whether it was breached in this case.
The Appellant is the father of a child, D. The Respondent is D’s mother and the Appellant’s former wife. The Appellant and the Respondent are Romanian nationals but formerly lived together in England, where D has lived since he was two months old. The Appellant now lives in Romania though he maintains a rented house in England. The Respondent and D continue to live in England. The Appellant launched proceedings in Romania for the dissolution of his marriage to the Respondent and custody of D. In February 2013, Romania’s highest Court, the Court of Appeal, granted joint custody of D to the Appellant and the Respondent but said D was to live with the Appellant in Romania. The English Courts at First Instance and in the Court of Appeal refused to grant recognition and enforcement to the judgment of the Romanian Court of Appeal on the basis that the foreign proceedings had breached a fundamental principle of the procedure of England and Wales. The father sought to pursue a further appeal to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court unanimously rules that it does not have jurisdiction to hear the father’s appeal, which must therefore be struck out.
