Summary
The parties had two children. The mother was Estonian. The father was English. They met in Estonia, and moved to Spain. After a breakdown of their relationship, the father and the children move to England.
The children were wrongfully removed from Spain.
The mother commenced proceedings in Spain, obtaining an order for the children’s return to Spain. The children were interviewed by a court psychologist in Spain, where the mother acted as a translator.
The father did not comply with the Spanish order.
The mother, however, obtained a registration of the original Spanish order in England.
The father appealed, invoking a public policy defence and arguing that the children were not given a proper opportunity to be heard.
The father’s appeal was dismissed.
The English court noted that it had no power to review the merits of the case, holding that the welfare was not a paramount consideration in the enforcement proceedings. It was further held that the argument that the children’s right to a fair trial was adversely affected was unfounded.