A (Children) Re [2019] EWHC 2334 (Fam)

Barbara Connolly QC and Anita Guha acted for the Mother in the retrial of a fact finding hearing in stranded spouse proceedings involving 4 children before the President of the Family Division. Emily Mitchell and Rose Harvey-Sullivan acted pro bono for the interveners who were facing a number of allegations of abuse and were successful in persuading the court that all of the allegations were untrue and that no findings should be made.

The retrial took place after a successful appeal was pursued by Barbara Connolly QC and Anita Guha against the findings of a High Court Judge who disbelieved the mother’s case and made findings that she had not been stranded in Pakistan; the children had not been wrongfully removed by the Father to this jurisdiction from Pakistan; the Mother was the woman in a video seen to be hitting by the eldest child, and had physically abused the children on other occasions.

Then Court of Appeal set aside this judgment and listed the matter for a fresh hearing before the President of the Family Division. Following a 2 week trial, the court accepted the Mother’s evidence and made all the key findings in her favour and held that the children had suffered very serious child abuse following their estrangement from their mother after she had been stranded in Pakistan for a period of 4 years.

View Judgment here.

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