Em (Lebanon) (FC) (Appellant) v Secretary of State for the Home Department (Respondent)

The House of Lords allowed the appeal, setting aside the orders below and quashing the Secretary of State's decision to remove the appellant and her son to Lebanon. The court found that the removal would result in a flagrant violation of their rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, as it would completely deny or nullify their right to respect for their family life. The court held that the discriminatory nature of the Lebanese family law, which automatically transfers a child's physical custody from the mother to the father at the age of seven, is incompatible with the basic principles of the Convention. The exceptional facts of the case, including the appellant's experience of domestic violence and the lack of any relationship between the child and his father, provided compelling humanitarian grounds against removal. The court also emphasized the importance of taking into account the child's separate Article 8 rights and interests.