State Central Authority and Weston

[2010] FamCA 599

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA

STATE CENTRAL AUTHORITY & WESTON [2010] FamCA 599

FAMILY LAW – CHILD ABDUCTION – HAGUE CONVENTION – Habitual residence

APPLICANT: State Central Authority

RESPONDENT: Mr Weston

FILE NUMBER: MLC 658 of 2010

DATE DELIVERED: 16 July 2010

PLACE DELIVERED: Melbourne

PLACE HEARD: Melbourne

JUDGMENT OF: BENNETT J

HEARING DATE: 5 AND 8 JULY 2010

REPRESENTATION

COUNSEL FOR THE APPLICANT: MS J GREENHAM

SOLICITOR FOR THE APPLICANT: DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, LEGAL SERVICES BRANCH

COUNSEL FOR THE RESPONDENT: MR A ROBINSON

SOLICITOR FOR THE RESPONDENT: STYNES DIXON LAWYERS

Orders

IT IS ORDERED:

1. That the application of the State Central Authority filed on 19 April 2010 be and is hereby dismissed.

2. That the passport of the child Z born … April 2008 currently held for safekeeping in this Registry of the Court be returned to the father Mr Weston.

3. That paragraphs 3, 4, 5, 6 of the Order made on 23 April 2010 be and are hereby discharged.

4. That the father’s application filed 25 January 2010 be referred to Registrar Mestrovic for fixing for interim hearing in the appropriate list.

5. IT IS REQUESTED that the Australia Federal Police remove the name of the child Z born … April 2008 from the Airport Watch List at all points of international arrivals and departures in Australia

IT IS NOTED that publication of this judgment under the pseudonym State Central Authority & Weston is approved pursuant to s 121(9)(g) of the Family Law Act 1975 (Cth)

FAMILY COURT OF AUSTRALIA AT MELBOURNE

FILE NUMBER: MLC 658  of 2010

STATE CENTRAL AUTHORITY 

Applicant

And

MR WESTON

Respondent

REASONS FOR JUDGMENT

1. By application filed 19 April 2010 the State Central Authority seeks the return to the United Kingdom of the child Z born in April 2008 (now 2 years) pursuant to r 16 of the Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations 1986 (‘the Regulations’). The Regulations import into Australian law the provisions of the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, which was concluded at The Hague on 25 October 1980 (‘the 1980 Convention’) and which entered into force between Australia and the United Kingdom since 1 January 1987.

2. The purpose of the 1980 Convention is to provide that children who are wrongfully removed to, or retained in, Australia are returned to the Convention country in which they were habitually resident immediately prior to the wrongful removal or retention.  The purpose of return is to allow appropriate parenting arrangements to be made for a child within the legal and social framework of the country of his or her habitual residence.

3. The applicant in these proceedings is the State Central Authority (SCA).  The SCA acts on the request of Ms Weston who is the child’s mother.  She is 35 years old, and resides in London, United Kingdom.  The respondent, Mr Weston, is the father of the child.  He is 37 years old, residing with his parents in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia.

4. The SCA alleges that the mother agreed that the child…