'Forget Canada, I want to live in Middlesbrough,' defiant girl, 13, abducted by her British mother tells judges
A schoolgirl has been allowed to stay in Britain instead of moving to live with her father in Canada following a landmark ruling by top family judges.
The 13-year-old, who was 'abducted' from America by her mother in violation of international law, set out her bitter objections to Lord Justice Thorpe and Lady Justice Smith in a private interview, midway through a hearing at London's Civil Appeal Court.
In a unique move, the judges ruled she was old enough to have views of her own and could stay in her native Middlesbrough rather than moving thousands of miles away.
Lady Justice Smith (left) and Lord Justice Thorpe (right) made a landmark ruling so a schoolgirl could stay in Britain instead of moving to live with her father in Canada
The youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, earlier penned a letter explaining: 'I never, never in my whole life want to go back there'.
Recognising that her roots were in Middlesbrough where she had a large network of friends and family, Lord Justice Thorpe said her attitude had shifted from reluctant resignation to 'hardened' defiance.
On September 21 she made a statement saying she would refuse to travel to Canada.
'Also, another thing: nobody is ever forcing me to get on that plane, so don't think that I will,' she said.
The details of the private meeting were not revealed but Lord Justice Thorpe - one of the nation's most senior family judges - said he had been impressed by the 'cogency of her reasons for rejecting (America) as the future for her'.
'It is highly unusual for this court to meet a child before deciding an appeal,' he said said. 'It is certainly the first time I've ever had that experience.
'But I believe it was just and necessary in this case....'
He said it was becoming ever more crucial to ensure the voices of children were heard in family law cases.
After her legal victory, the jubilant schoolgirl said she had simply told judges she 'would not go back'.
Setting out her reasons for the decision, she said she had felt isolated living in America - where her father had originally gone to find work - and that life was 'just more exciting here'.
And she said the reality of snow covered prairies had come as a grim shock.
'Life's rosier in Middlesbrough,' her mother said.
The keen dancer said both family and friends had been 'incredibly supportive', and were 'rooting for her all the way'.
She and her younger sister arrived back in England late last year, after their mother used the pretext of a theatre visit to take them from their father, and 'abduct them to the United Kingdom', the court heard.
'That was a very foolish step,' the judge observed, adding: 'The bare removal would have been bad enough, but the elements of deception which surrounded their removal inevitably further damaged the relationship between the parents, and has had further repercussions since'.
The father, exercising his rights under the Hague Convention which enshrines the international ban on child abduction, in August,secured a High Court order for the return of his daughters to America for their future to be decided there.
Lord Justice Thorpe said he understood the judge's reasons for making that order, but was concerned the children's objections may have been overlooked.
The family courts, he said, had to be 'alive to' the problems of returning children, particularly where one of them is an 'articulate, determined and courageous adolescent' who has made plain her opposition.
Both siblings' return orders were overturned by the court.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-ruling-live-father-Canada.html#ixzz10T0ZBZZB
A schoolgirl has been allowed to stay in Britain instead of moving to live with her father in Canada following a landmark ruling by top family judges.
The 13-year-old, who was 'abducted' from America by her mother in violation of international law, set out her bitter objections to Lord Justice Thorpe and Lady Justice Smith in a private interview, midway through a hearing at London's Civil Appeal Court.
In a unique move, the judges ruled she was old enough to have views of her own and could stay in her native Middlesbrough rather than moving thousands of miles away.
Lady Justice Smith (left) and Lord Justice Thorpe (right) made a landmark ruling so a schoolgirl could stay in Britain instead of moving to live with her father in Canada
The youngster, who cannot be named for legal reasons, earlier penned a letter explaining: 'I never, never in my whole life want to go back there'.
Recognising that her roots were in Middlesbrough where she had a large network of friends and family, Lord Justice Thorpe said her attitude had shifted from reluctant resignation to 'hardened' defiance.
On September 21 she made a statement saying she would refuse to travel to Canada.
'Also, another thing: nobody is ever forcing me to get on that plane, so don't think that I will,' she said.
The details of the private meeting were not revealed but Lord Justice Thorpe - one of the nation's most senior family judges - said he had been impressed by the 'cogency of her reasons for rejecting (America) as the future for her'.
'It is highly unusual for this court to meet a child before deciding an appeal,' he said said. 'It is certainly the first time I've ever had that experience.
'But I believe it was just and necessary in this case....'
He said it was becoming ever more crucial to ensure the voices of children were heard in family law cases.
After her legal victory, the jubilant schoolgirl said she had simply told judges she 'would not go back'.
Setting out her reasons for the decision, she said she had felt isolated living in America - where her father had originally gone to find work - and that life was 'just more exciting here'.
And she said the reality of snow covered prairies had come as a grim shock.
'Life's rosier in Middlesbrough,' her mother said.
The keen dancer said both family and friends had been 'incredibly supportive', and were 'rooting for her all the way'.
She and her younger sister arrived back in England late last year, after their mother used the pretext of a theatre visit to take them from their father, and 'abduct them to the United Kingdom', the court heard.
'That was a very foolish step,' the judge observed, adding: 'The bare removal would have been bad enough, but the elements of deception which surrounded their removal inevitably further damaged the relationship between the parents, and has had further repercussions since'.
The father, exercising his rights under the Hague Convention which enshrines the international ban on child abduction, in August,secured a High Court order for the return of his daughters to America for their future to be decided there.
Lord Justice Thorpe said he understood the judge's reasons for making that order, but was concerned the children's objections may have been overlooked.
The family courts, he said, had to be 'alive to' the problems of returning children, particularly where one of them is an 'articulate, determined and courageous adolescent' who has made plain her opposition.
Both siblings' return orders were overturned by the court.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-ruling-live-father-Canada.html#ixzz10T0ZBZZB
