A Father v A Mother

Facts

The applicant father, who lives in Italy, and the respondent mother, who has lived in England for many years, are both of Albanian heritage and were in a relationship for seven years, though never married. Their two children, XR born in December 2017 and XZ born in May 2020, were born in the UK and hold only British passports. The mother has retained a council tenancy in London since 2015. In June 2022 the mother and children joined the father in Italy, staying in a succession of properties; XR began school in Florence in the autumn while XZ, cared for principally by her mother, did not attend school at all. The relationship deteriorated, the mother alleging repeated domestic abuse, and by December 2022 she was determined to return to England. The father registered the children as resident in Italy on 6 December 2022 without her knowledge and filed a custody petition there on 13 December, which was never served. On 19 December 2022, following the mother's approach to the British Embassy and then the police station at Galluzzo, Florence, the father handed over the children's passports and the mother travelled to England with them that day. He applied under the Hague Convention 1980 for their summary return only on 12 October 2023.