Re B (A Child) (Residence: Biological Parent)
There is no presumption in favour of a natural parent in a residence dispute, and the child's welfare is the paramount consideration in deciding where the child should live.
Facts
Harry, a four year old boy, had lived with his maternal grandmother since he was a baby, with the agreement of his parents. His father later applied for a residence order so that Harry could live with him. A Children's Guardian recommended that Harry should stay with his grandmother. The magistrates decided that Harry should stay with his grandmother, but the High Court judge, relying on the importance of the natural parent, ordered that Harry should live with his father, and the Court of Appeal upheld that decision.
Legal principle
The Supreme Court allowed the grandmother's appeal and restored the magistrates' decision. Lord Kerr said that the court's paramount consideration is the welfare of the child, and that there is no rule or presumption that a child should be brought up by a natural parent. The fact that a person is the child's natural parent is a factor which may be of importance, but it must be considered in the context of the child's welfare as a whole, not as a separate principle. The magistrates had been entitled to find that Harry's welfare required him to stay with his grandmother.
Related cases on private law disputes about children and child abduction
- Re C (A Child) (Immunisation: Parental Rights) [2003] EWCA Civ 1148, [2003] 2 FLR 1095
- Re D (A Child) (Abduction: Rights of Custody) [2006] UKHL 51, [2007] 1 AC 619
- Dawson v Wearmouth [1999] 2 AC 308
- Re E (Children) (Abduction: Custody Appeal) [2011] UKSC 27, [2012] 1 AC 144
- Re F (A Child) (International Relocation Cases) [2015] EWCA Civ 882
- Re G (Children) (Residence: Same-sex Partner) [2006] UKHL 43, [2006] 1 WLR 2305
- Re J (A Child) (Custody Rights: Jurisdiction) [2005] UKHL 40, [2006] 1 AC 80
- Re J (Specific Issue Orders: Child's Religious Upbringing and Circumcision) [2000] 1 FLR 571
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