RYLAND

The father sought orders concerning his three children, F, C, and B, who had been taken from Australia. Hague Convention proceedings had been initiated in the foreign jurisdiction, but the Authority there declined to return the children, citing concerns for their mental wellbeing, and retained them in its care. The father also conceded that while the children were in the care of the foreign Authority, the Family Court was not the appropriate forum for matters concerning them.

The central legal issue before Berman J was the extent of the Family Court's jurisdiction and its ability to make orders concerning the children, particularly given their retention by a foreign Authority and the concession regarding the appropriate forum. The court was required to determine whether it retained any jurisdiction to make orders regarding the children's care, welfare, and development in these circumstances.

Berman J determined that while the children were in the care of the foreign Authority, the Family Court's jurisdiction was significantly curtailed, and it was not the appropriate forum for determining their future care arrangements. However, the court found it could still exercise jurisdiction in relation to F, who was an adult. Consequently, the court made orders granting the father sole parental responsibility for F, that F live with the father, and that F communicate and spend time with the mother subject to F's wishes. The father's applications concerning C and B were dismissed, with the court explicitly declining to exercise its jurisdiction in relation to them.