James Holmes of the Garden Court Family Team represented the Mother of the children, instructed by Cris McCurley of Ben Hoare Bell.
Read Judgment: Z v V & Anor [2024] EWHC 365 (Fam)
The Mother sought a suite of orders to safeguard her children against potential wrongful removal by their Father. Legal proceedings have lasted nearly two years.
The Father had previously abducted the Mother's two youngest children ("J" and "K"), aged 8 and 4, to Nigeria while the Mother was away. The children suffered physical and emotional harm caused by the Father's actions.
The Judge found it reasonable to "enlarge" existing Child Arrangements Order and Prohibited Steps Orders (PSOs) preventing the Father from removing the children from the Mother's care.
The Judge also issued a Specific Issue Order (SIO) to the Mother to hold the children's travel documents, and not to inform the Father of any changes of address for the children in the next 12 months.
The Judge subsequently issued a S91(14) order for a period of 18 months, a 'barring order' which aims to prevent individuals or abusive ex-partners like the Father from making further applications to a court and bringing the victim/s back to court repeatedly.
