Anita Guha KC, Katy Chokowry and Tadhgh Barwell O’Connor instructed by Carolina Pedreno at Dawson Cornwell acted for Reunite International Child Abduction Centre in the Supreme Court intervening in the appeals in the Petition of DM No 1 & No2 [2026] UKSC 32.
The Supreme Court reviewed the approach to Article 13b defences in 1980 Hague Convention child abduction cases with particular focus upon the requirement to ascertain the views of the subject child. The judgment affirmed that this principle is not confined to child’s objections defences and settlement cases; the court must allow the subject child an opportunity to be heard in all Hague proceedings where appropriate according to their age and degree of maturity. The court proceeded to analyse whether the views of the elder child could be determinative in this particular case where the expert evidence established an Art 13b risk with respect to the mother’s mental health and the risk of suicide, and it was alleged that the authenticity of the child’s views was vitiated by undue influence.