The High Court (Family Division) heard a father's Hague Convention application for his young son's return to the United States, with the mother relying on an Article 13(b) defence.
Key facts
- Who: Parents involved in Hague Convention child abduction proceedings in England and Wales
- From: Judgment of 14 May 2026
- Source: BN (A Child)(Abduction: Art 13(b)), Re [2026] EWHC 1158 (Fam)
Background
In Re BN (A Child)(Abduction: Art 13(b)) [2026] EWHC 1158 (Fam), Mr David Rees KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court, dealt with an application under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, brought under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985. The hearing took place on 13 May 2026 and judgment was given on 14 May 2026. The father applied for the return of the child to the State of Connecticut in the United States. The mother was represented and opposed the application.
The family had been living in Connecticut. In January 2026 they travelled to England and Wales. On 19 January there was an incident, the precise facts of which were disputed. The mother left with the child and approached police.
The father returned to the United States on 1 February 2026 and issued proceedings on 10 February 2026. A location order was made to identify where the mother and child were living. The final hearing was relisted more than once because of delays in obtaining expert evidence from a Connecticut lawyer.
The evidence
The mother said the father had become increasingly hostile and demeaning towards her, shouting at her and the child. She also described threats made on 19 January 2026.
The father accepted that he was agitated and under immense stress on that occasion, but did not accept her account of the events. He accepted that the tone and language captured in video clips were inappropriate, but said they arose from a parenting dispute and not from any wish to mistreat the child. He said he had begun therapy.
The mother produced nine video clips from cameras in the family home, recorded between 7 February 2025 and 3 December 2025, most of them from November 2025. The judge said the clips corroborated her written evidence and described them as "shocking viewing". He agreed with Dr Weir, who described them as at the extreme end of domestic abuse, short of inflicting actual violence. He recorded that in the clips the father showed fury towards the mother, often in the child's presence.
What this means for parents in Hague Convention cases
The court treated the video recordings as important evidence and also considered detailed written accounts from both parents. In this case, delays in obtaining expert evidence from a Connecticut lawyer led to the final hearing being relisted.
Sources
- BN (A Child)(Abduction: Art 13(b)), Re [2026] EWHC 1158 (Fam), High Court (Family Division), 14 May 2026