Mr W
Our International Family Law Team acted on behalf of Mr W in relation to child arrangements proceedings. Mr W who is a Jamaican/US citizen was in a relationship with Ms X, who is a Jamaican/British national. The parties were unmarried and had one child together, who was born in England as Ms X’s mother worked in maternity in England and she wished to have the physical, emotional and practical support of her mother for the birth of her first child. The parties were not in a relationship when the child was born and had been friends for many years before enjoying a brief relationship, which led to the child’s conception. They never cohabited.
When the child was 3 months old, Ms X and the child travelled back to Jamaica and lived and became integrated there until August 2021.
In summer 2021 Ms X told Mr W that she planned to travel to England to receive both doses of the Covid-19 vaccination, which would mean a 2-month stay in England to allow the necessary time between the doses. Whilst confused why Ms X would travel to England for the vaccination, rather than accessing the excellent medical services in Jamaica, Mr W nonetheless agreed to the child, who was 3 years and 6 months travelling with mother for a holiday for 2 – 3 months. Ms X travelled with the child in August 2021 and stayed with the maternal grandmother.
Mr W enjoyed daily video Skype calls the child and regularly spoke to the mother about his life and hers in England. Worried that Ms X was refusing to confirm when she planned to return to Jamaica, Mr W instructed Lawyers in Jamaica to advise him generally. After 3 months, in November 2021 they wrote to the mother in England, asking her to confirm when she would return with the child to Jamaica and indicated that Mr W was open to amicably discussing her plans in mediation. Ms X replied 18 days later to the father directly confirming that her reasons for travel had been medical (vaccination) and informing him that she had, since her stay in England, decided not to return and had purchased a home in England where she planned to live with the parties’ child.
In December 2021 Mr W requested assistance for the return of the child to Jamaica from the Jamaican Central Authority for child protection based on the mother’s unlawful retention the child in England. Unfortunately they were not able to assist with a Hague application by reason that England has not accepted by Jamaica. Mr W further contacted the Jamaica High Commission in England to make a formal request to International Children Services to execute a welfare check, who advised him to instruct a lawyer in London.
Mr W instructed Mackrell. in February 2022 and in early March 2022 an ex-parte application under the Inherent Jurisdiction of the High Court of England and Wales was made applying for an order returning the child to Jamaica. Ms Y was personally served with the application, the father’s statement in support, the notice of proceedings and notice of hearing, by a process server 14 days before a Directions Appointment. A few days before the Directions hearing Ms X instructed solicitors who wrote indicating that the application was contested. At the hearing, which Mr W flew into London to attend in person, the parties agreed to consider engaging in mediation under the Child Abduction Mediation Scheme or through another non-court dispute resolution procedure. Furthermore at the hearing, interim contact arrangements were agreed.
Following the parties engaging in mediation under the Child Abduction Mediation Scheme, through Reunite, the parties via their solicitors came to an agreement that the child would remain living in England with Ms Y on the basis that the child would spend time with Mr W over four consecutive weeks during the summer school holidays in Jamaica and two consecutive weeks during the Christmas holidays in Jamaica, followed by one Christmas holiday in England. Furthermore, in years that the child was not spending Christmas with the father in Jamaica, the child would travel to Jamaica for the Easter holidays. Mr W also agreed that he would endeavour to travel to England a minimum of once a year, with each visit to be a maximum of two weeks to spend time with the child. Indirect contact was also agreed. These arrangements were put into a binding court order and with Ms X agreeing to take steps for this order to be registered in Jamaica.
