Saleem, shivering and English winters: jurisdiction under Art 11 of the 1996 Hague Convention

On 25 November 2015 the Supreme Court gave judgment in the first case on the Hague Convention on Jurisdiction Applicable Law Recognition Enforcement and Co-operation of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (the 1996 Convention) to have come before it.

In Re J (A child) [2015] UKSC 70 the specific question was one of interpretation: how should ‘in all cases of urgency’ be read in Art 11 of the 1996 Convention?

A reminder

For those in need of a quick reminder the 1996 Hague Convention came in to force in the UK on 1 November 2012. Its objectives include the improvement of the protection of children in international situations and the avoidance of conflict between international legal systems as regards jurisdiction applicable law recognition and enforcement of protective measures. It sits alongside Brussels IIa and the 1980 Hague Convention in the panoply of international law with which family practitioners must now be conversant.

In jurisdictional terms Art 5 is the starting point: jurisdiction is founded on habitual residence. Article 11 confers an additional jurisdiction in limited circumstances. Namely

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