Court Report: Children can stay in Bangladesh

Judge: Lady Justice Black

Location: Court of Appeal

A Bangladeshi man, who also held British citizenship, made an unsuccessful application for the return of his children from Bangladesh where the mother and his two children, both British citizens, remained after a trip in 2008.

Both parents had parental responsibility towards the children and the Court of Appeal examined whether barring a parent from individually changing the habitual residence of a child, in such a scenario, was still good law.

The man claimed that both children had been retained wrongfully and sought their return. However, he had already pursued and completed an action to this end in the Bangladesh legal system.

Regarding whether an individual parent can change a child's habitual residence, Lady Justice Black deemed that this rule ought to be consigned to history and this question examined on a case-by-case basis to be determined on the facts.

Having accepted jurisdiction, due to the British citizenship of the children, the court examined whether it would be appropriate to continue given the completion of the same examination in Bangladesh. The judge held that, with regards to the interests of the children, no concrete reason could be found to continue proceedings in the UK. This was strengthened by the fact that the children have not been resident in the UK for five years, and given that the case had been decided in their country of current residence, the appeal was dismissed.

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