Emily Mitchell successful in defending an application for the summary return of a child to France

7BR’s Emily Mitchell was successful in defending an application for the summary return of a child to France on the basis that the child was settled in England.

In D v G [2026], Emily acted for the mother who had wrongfully removed the child from France. A defence was raised under Article 12 of the 1980 Hague Convention that the child was settled in England. At the time of the father’s application, the mother and child had been living in England for 18 months.

The judge considered both physical and psychological components when evaluating whether the defence had been established. The father relied upon his poor relationship with the child since her removal to support his contention that she could not therefore be emotionally or psychologically settled in England. The judge, in taking a holistic approach to all the evidence, considered that the potential loss of a relationship with the father, whilst an important factor, was not determinative when considering the question of settlement and did not undermine the child’s psychological settlement in England. When considering the totality of the child’s circumstances, the judge found that the child was settled and that a return to France would not be in the child’s best interests.

Emily was instructed by Isobel Hubner of Bindmans LLP.

You can read the full judgment here.

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