INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND PROTECTING CHILDREN: HAGUE UPDATED

Today marks another important date for parents and lawyers who have ever found themselves embroiled in a case involving children and spanning the borders of different countries.

That is because today sees provisions included in a new and wide-ranging Hague Convention come into force in the UK.

Discussions about ‘The Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children’ (or ‘The 1996 Hague Convention’, to give the document its more familiar shorthand title) came to an end 16 years ago.

However, the Government in Westminster only finally ratified the document this year, hence an apparently belated adoption.

As its title suggests, the focus is on protecting children. Even though it may not apply to every single case, the new Convention’s various key strands mean it is likely to have impact on more matters than before.

The fundamental emphasis is on protecting children and clarifying the responsibilities of and relationships between parents and courts in an effort to make the legal resolution of any difficulties which arise “simple and rapid”.

For instance, one provision allows for an order made in one country which has signed up to the Convention and granted contact to a parent to be recognised in another signatory state, so overcoming the previous need to take out so-called ‘mirror orders’, replicating one domestic court’s ruling in another foreign jurisdiction.

The reason for the Convention’s significance is regularly brought home to myself and my colleagues. The breakdown of relationships involving children is common and can lead to disputes about which country those children are to live once their parents separate. The convention will simplify the procedure of maintaining contact with a child who is moving to another country on the separation of its parents.

Given the growing number of couples made up of individuals hailing from different countries, such disagreements can and have become even more complicated.

Whatever the circumstances, one thing is clear: removing a child from the country where it lives without express permission is a criminal offence.

If you find yourself in such a situation, it’s important to know that there are experts who understand the issues and anxieties involved, and who will make every effort to reunite you and your child.

Our child abduction solicitors have worked successfully on cases around the world, including Europe, Middle East, USA, Australasia and the Far East which have led to children being reunited with their parents.

Pannone is among those law firms recommended by Reunite, the leading UK charity specialising in international parental child abduction, and the association of family lawyers, Resolution.
If your child has been taken out of the UK to a country that has signed up to the Hague Convention or another international agreement, we will take legal steps to return them to you as quickly as possible.

Where no agreement is in place, through our international networks of contacts we will instruct specialist child abduction lawyers in that jurisdiction to fight your case.

We can also help locate a child that has been brought to the UK without your consent through the courts to ensure their safe return.

Swift action is paramount in child abduction cases and if you suspect your child is about to be taken out of the country - please call us immediately on 0800 840 4929 during office hours and 07947 022 312 outside office hours. Alternatively please contact Louise Halford, Child Abduction Solicitor, immediately and we will take action to prevent their removal.

Honeymoon over for Pop Idol Gareth Gates

Gareth Gates has revealed that he has split from his wife, ending their three year marriage. The singer and his wife, Suzanne, have been together for 10 years, with a young daughter, Missy.

Gareth, aged 28, has recently been accused of having an affair with his Legally Blonde co-star, Faye Brooks. However, Gates insists that the reason for the breakdown of their marriage is that he and Suzanne have “grown apart”.

At the end of September, I was quoted in The Daily Telegraph and The Huffington Post, reporting the increased number of cases which I have seen recently, involving couples in their twenties and thirties who had been involved in long-standing relationships, often since school, only for their marriages to come to an end.
There appear to be a number of reasons for an increase in the rate of divorce amongst such couples. Many suggest that like Gareth, they have grown apart. For others, they no longer feel the same way about their long-term partners once they have children. Another frequent cause of break-ups is infidelity on the part of husbands who have never had relationships with anyone other than their wives.

The frequency of divorce involving young celebrities means many other couples no longer feel stigmatised by the prospect of marriage break-up.
Getting divorced at any age can be a stressful experience. However, younger couples often find it easier to reach agreement with their spouse about finances or children  than couples in their forties and fifties.

We are a team of specialist family law solicitors in Manchester. For more divorce advice please read our family law blog or follow us on Twitter @Divorce_experts
Claire Reid, Senior Associate

Marriage, Mansions and Mayhem

Today’s Telegraph  features a story about Maha Shagroon, an extremely wealthy divorcee’s claims that her former husband has failed to maintain her to the standard to which she had become accustomed. Her complaints appear to centre on his failure to pay the salaries of the household staff based at their £5m Regents Park home, and his failure to maintain their fleet of cars.

Whilst such tales of the super wealthy bear little resemblance to the lives of most of us mere mortals, an important part of the couple’s dispute could impact on many. In happier times the couple went through an Islamic marriage ceremony presided over by an imam in London. According to the article they were divorced in 2002 by the husband pronouncing Talaq (the Islamic divorce). The Husband is now arguing that their marriage is invalid as he had already had an Islamic marriage abroad, and as a result their divorce is invalid, and therefore the court has no authority to make a decision about their finances.

This is a fairly technical area of law, but it is becoming more common for couples to marry abroad, and also to go through different types of marriage ceremony. If such ceremonies do not comply with the necessary legal formalities that marriage may well be void or invalid. As a result there can be no divorce, and no divorce means no divorce settlement!

An overseas divorce can be a complicating factor, although it is still possible to make a claim for financial relief from your ex-spouse in England even if you already have a divorce and/or a financial order from another country.

If any of the issues above affect you or you are concerned about the effects of an international marriage or divorce it is recommended that you obtain advice from a specialist solicitor. We are a team of specialist family law solicitors in Manchester. For more divorce advice please read our family law blog or follow us on Twitter @Divorce_experts

Katy Stirling, Solicitor