State Central Authority & LJK

The case involved the State Central Authority (SCA) and LJK, with the Honourable Justice Morgan presiding in the Supreme Court of South Australia. The dispute concerned an application by the SCA for an order for the return of a child, LJK, to the Commonwealth of Australia, pursuant to the *Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and the Law of the Commonwealth*. The SCA sought the return of LJK from South Australia to the United States of America, where it was alleged the child had been habitually resident.

The central legal issue before the Court was whether LJK had been wrongfully removed from the United States of America, within the meaning of Article 3 of the Hague Convention. This required the Court to determine if the child was habitually resident in the United States immediately prior to the alleged wrongful removal, and if the removal was in breach of the rights of custody attributed to the applicant under the law of the United States. The Court also considered whether the exception under Article 13(b) of the Convention applied, which would permit the Court to refuse the return of the child if it was established that the child had settled into a new environment.

Justice Morgan considered the evidence presented by both parties regarding the child's habitual residence and the circumstances of the removal. The Court applied the principles established in *Vanden Daelen v. Daelen* and *P (A Child)*, which emphasise that habitual residence is a question of fact to be determined by the Court, considering all relevant circumstances. The Court found that the evidence did not establish that the child had settled into a new environment in Australia, nor that the removal was not wrongful. Consequently, the Court concluded that the conditions for the return of the child under the Convention were met.

The Court ordered the return of LJK to the Commonwealth of Australia, to be returned to the United States of America.