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A child's opportunity to be heard after Re D
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Child's opportunity to be heard: a fundamental principle
In
Re D (A Child) (International Recognition) [2016] EWCA Civ 12 [2016] FLR (forthcoming) the Court of Appeal considered whether they should recognise a Romanian appeal court's judgment as to custody of a 7-year-old child. They refused to do so. The Romanian court they said had not considered whether they should provide an opportunity to be heard by the court (as is required by Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 Brussels IIA Art 12(b) cited and explained below). The reasoning for the Art 23(b) outcome in the Court of Appeal raises questions as to:
- what is meant by an opportunity for the child to be heard by the court;
- what 'fundamental principles of procedure' (see Art 23(b)) are engaged in this process; and
- how any such 'fundamental principles' are applied in English law and practice.
This article is concerned only with the child's opportunity to express a view to the court (see
Guidelines for judges meeting children who are subject to family proceedings [2010] 2 FLR 1872) as distinct from the quite separate subject of children giving evidence in family proceedings - see...
Read the full article here.
