Re E (children) (international abduction) [2011] UKSC 27, [2011] All ER (D) 62 (Jun)
Supreme Court, Lord Hope, Lord Walker, Lady Hale, Lord Kerr and Lord Wilson, 10 Jun 2011
The whole of the Hague Convention was designed for the benefit of children, not of adults. Their best interests had two aspects: to be reunited with their parents as soon as possible, so that one did not gain an unfair advantage over the other through the passage of time; and to be brought up in a “sound environment”, in which they were not at risk of harm.
Henry Setright QC and David Williams for the mother. James Turner QC and Ian Cook for the father. Baroness Scotland QC and Edward Devereux for T. Deirdre Fottrell and Radhika Handa (instructed by Mishcon de Reya) for the intervener, the AIRE Centre. Richard Harrison and Jennifer Perrins (instructed by Bindmans LLP) for the intervener, Reunite International. Stephen Knafler QC, Teertha Gupta, Irena Sabic and Neil Jeffs (instructed by Sternberg Reed) for the intervener, Women’s Aid Federation of England.
The proceedings concerned two children aged seven and
