International Holocaust Remembrance Day

Child survivors of Auschwitz

During World War II, six million Jews (and millions of others) died at the hands of the Nazis. Perhaps the most notorious of the concentration camps, Auschwitz-Birkenau, was the last one to be liberated—on January 27, 1945. In recognition of that event, the United Nations General Assembly in 2005 declared January 27 to be International Holocaust Remembrance Day. I used to think that racism in general, and anti-Semitism in particular, were on a rapid and irrevocable decline, but sadly that has turned out not to be the case. What happened before—and worse—could happen again unless we get our collective acts together, stop being awful to other human beings, and stop tolerating those who are.

Image credit: Alexander Voronzow and others in his group, ordered by Mikhael Oschurkow, head of the photography unit [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons


Go to Source
Author: Joe Kissell

The Hurdy-Gurdy

A musician playing the hurdy-gurdy

Violin, bagpipes, and kazoo combined

In 1996, I bought an album I knew next to nothing about, by an artist I had never heard of before, on the strength of the album being issued on Peter Gabriel’s excellent Real World record label. The album was Big City Secrets by Joseph Arthur, and from the very first track I knew that I had made a good purchase. However, I really sat up and listened when I got to track 3, “Mikel K.” In the background of the song there was a really odd-sounding instrument. It sounded a bit like a violin (or a folk-style fiddle) played with a never-ending bow, and had a bagpipe-like drone note in the background. As if that wasn’t enough sonic complexity for one instrument, there was also a rhythmic buzzing sound, slightly reminiscent of a kazoo. What in the world was it? A quick check of the liner notes revealed only one instrument that I hadn’t heard of before—a hurdy-gurdy.

Don’t They Usually Come with a Monkey?

The first image that popped into my head was of a kind of barrel organ, where a handle is turned to drive bellows which force air through organ pipes, and which is also usually accompanied by some kind of simian assistant. I was so fascinated by the sound that I did some research, and found that my misconception was a common one. The hurdy-gurdy (or vielle à roue, as it is known in France) is played by turning a handle, but the resemblance to a barrel organ ends there. The body of the instrument can be box-shaped or with a rounded back like a lute, and many examples are beautifully decorated with inlaid wood. The handle turns a wheel covered in rosin, which vibrates the strings; the hurdy-gurdy functions like a violin with an endless bow, so that there is no pause in the sound at the end of a bow stroke. Instead of sounding notes using the fingers, the musician presses sliding, un-sprung keys which make contact with the strings and shorten them to make a sound of the required pitch. The drone comes from one or more strings which do not get pressed by the keys, and therefore sound the same notes continuously. The final part of the puzzle is the moveable bridge, or chien (French for dog), which supports one of the drone strings and can be manipulated by a skilled player so that it vibrates against the body of the hurdy-gurdy during playing, making a rhythmic buzzing noise. The whole ensemble has a driving, continuous sound, with its own percussion produced by the chien; it is impossible not to tap your feet along with the music.

The Golden Age of the Hurdy-Gurdy

It should therefore come as no surprise that the heyday of the hurdy-gurdy was in the medieval period, when it was used to accompany dancing. However, between the 14th and 16th centuries, the complexity and range of the popular music of the day increased beyond the capabilities of the instrument, and it fell out of favour with professional musicians, while remaining a firm favourite in rural areas with folk musicians. There was a bit of a hurdy-gurdy revival in the 17th to 18th centuries, as the instrument was improved and much new music was written for it. Oddly, this was partly due to its former association with the rural peasantry. The French court of Louis XIV started a fashion for what might be called “peasant chic”: the King was fascinated by his own idea of the simple, rural life (of course, this was a somewhat rose-tinted view, ignoring all the harsh, unsanitary, and downright unpleasant aspects of peasant life), and the hurdy-gurdy fitted in with this fashion perfectly. Eventually, the fashion changed, and by the French Revolution, the hurdy-gurdy had been returned to the rural working people. Today the peculiar sound of the instrument has a great affinity for all kinds of modern music, as I discovered. It makes an interesting acoustic counterpoint to largely electronic music, and the Celtic/Middle-Eastern feel of the sound complements world and folk music equally well. In my opinion, there are few pieces of music that aren’t improved by the addition of a hurdy-gurdy—but perhaps I’m a bit biased.

The Sad and Seedy Side

The hurdy-gurdy also has a dark side to its history, which can be traced back to Hessen, Germany in the 1800s. Poverty was rife in rural areas because of increasing family sizes and the division of inherited land, so farmers started to make brooms and fly whisks in the winter which they then sold in the summer as pedlars. Initially, they sold their goods locally, but their trade soon spread to other areas of Europe, and as far as Britain and Russia. Being shrewd folk, they realised that brooms are not the most fascinating of household commodities, and that they would gather more of a crowd of potential purchasers if some form of entertainment was included. This took the form of pretty young “hurdy-gurdy girls” who danced and played music. Inevitably, the girls became more of a draw than the brooms, and before long, young girls were being persuaded by “soul-merchants” to leave their homes and families to play and dance in seedy music halls for sailors, miners, and other groups of men bereft of female company. The girls performed as far afield as gold-rush California, Cuba, and Australia. Some were drawn into prostitution, and while a lucky few became rich from their trade, most led miserable lives and returned home poor and ill. For many years, the trade was a public secret, with officials turning a blind eye (or even profiting from it) but eventually it changed from public secret to public scandal, and was finally outlawed in 1865 by a government edict.

Hurdy-Gurdy Gurus

So who is the Jimi Hendrix of the hurdy-gurdy scene? My vote would go to Nigel Eaton. His father, Chris, also makes the instruments, which must be handy if he has a Pete Townsend moment at a gig, and smashes up his hurdy-gurdy. Nigel has formed numerous groups centered around the hurdy-gurdy, including Blowzabella and Ancient Beatbox, as well as playing as a session musician with performers as diverse as Led Zeppelin and Joseph Arthur. In fact, this is where I came in—Nigel Eaton was playing on the Joseph Arthur track I mentioned at the start of this article. Like the rosined wheel of the hurdy-gurdy, I have come full circle.

Guest author Jackie Chappell is a biologist at the University of Birmingham (UK).

Note: This is an updated version of an article that originally appeared on Interesting Thing of the Day on July 1, 2003, and again in a slightly revised form on September 22, 2004.

Image credit: Sander van der Wel [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons


Go to Source
Author: Jackie Chappell

National Seed Swap Day

RFGN seed swap at the Reading Farmers' Market. 17th March 2018

A seed swap is an event where—see if you can follow this intricate description—people swap seeds. That is to say, gardeners bring excess or unusual seeds to a central location and trade them for others—perhaps to obtain new heirloom plants, to try new things, or just for garden-variety (see what I did there?) diversity. I’m sorry to say that I don’t have anywhere to put a garden, but if I did, I’m sure I’d find seed swaps delightful. Washington Gardener Magazine started National Seed Swap Day in 2006, and it has been held the last Saturday in January ever since.

Image credit: Karen Blakeman [Public domain], via Flickr


Go to Source
Author: Joe Kissell

Family Mediation Week Day 5: Planning For The Future

Day 5 of Family Mediation Week’s theme is “A Ray of Sunshine; What a Relief”

Today is the last day of Family Mediation Week.

Once again there is a lot of very helpful information, including videos, blogs and articles available from the Family Mediation Week website (http://www.familymediationweek.org.uk/).

These look towards the end of the process and people being able to move on.

For example, there is a video by Bill Hewlett recording how relieved children feel that they have been listened to, they no longer feel they are caught in the middle and they can go on and enjoy the rest of their childhood.

There are also articles about the importance of everyone looking after themselves, mentally and physically, as they go through the process of separation and moving on.

This is accompanied by another piece focusing on the future and having a clear plan in order to make the best of life.

Mediation is all about helping families to find fair solutions which work for everyone.

Mediation requires commitment and effort by everyone concerned, the couple and the Mediator or Mediators, it is not necessarily an easy process but if it does result in fair, workable solutions the gains are enormous.

Mediation is just one of several ways of resolving issues when families separate. As such, it should always be considered.

Legal advice is vital no matter what process a couple choose to follow.

Legal advice can support and assist the Mediation process so couples can make proper informed decisions.

Family Mediation Week has been an enormous success, the material produced is of first class quality and at Stowe Family Law we are committed to helping our clients identify the process which will work best for them and their families. Stowe Family Law is able to offer mediation services in a number of our offices so if you are interested in hearing more get in touch.

You can read our previous Mediation Week posts here:

The post Family Mediation Week Day 5: Planning For The Future appeared first on Stowe Family Law.


Go to Source
Author: Graham Coy

A Week In Family Law: A Domestic Abuse Bill, the myth of common law marriage, and more

And what a busy week it’s been!

First up, the Civil Partnerships, Marriages and Deaths (Registration Etc) Bill received its second reading in the House of Lords. The Bill, which provides, amongst other things, that opposite sex couples may enter into a civil partnership, will now proceed to the committee stage in the House of Lords.

The big news was the unveiling by the government of its draft Domestic Abuse Bill, which it calls “the most comprehensive package ever to tackle domestic abuse.” The Bill is “aimed at supporting victims and their families and pursuing offenders.” Its main provisions include the first ever statutory government definition of domestic abuse to specifically include economic abuse and controlling and manipulative non-physical abuse; the establishment of a Domestic Abuse Commissioner to drive the response to domestic abuse issues; the introduction of new Domestic Abuse Protection Notices and Domestic Abuse Protection Orders to further protect victims and place restrictions on the actions of offenders; and the prohibition of the cross-examination of victims by their abusers in the family courts. For further details of the Bill see this brief summary I wrote here on Monday. The Bill has been generally welcomed by interested parties. Katie Ghose, Chief Executive of Women’s Aid, said that it “has the potential to create a step change in the national response” to domestic abuse, and Suzanne Jacob OBE, Chief Executive of the domestic abuse charity SafeLives, said: “We welcome the government’s set of proposals, particularly putting a greater focus on perpetrator accountability, both through the legal system, civil powers, and programmes that seek to change abusive behaviour.” Let us just hope that the present political uncertainty does not derail the Bill (the prohibition of the cross-examination of victims provision has already been delayed a year and a half by the last general election).

The next big story was not actually news, at least not to all family lawyers. This year’s British Social Attitudes Survey, carried out by The National Centre for Social Research, found that almost half of all people in England and Wales mistakenly believe that unmarried couples who live together have a common law marriage and enjoy the same rights as couples that are legally married. The findings reveal that 46% of the population are under the wrong impression that cohabiting couples form a common law marriage – a figure that remains largely unchanged over the last fourteen years (47% in 2005), despite a significant increase in the number of cohabiting couples. In contrast, only 41% of respondents to the survey rightly say cohabiting couples are not in a common law marriage. Interestingly, the survey showed that people are significantly more likely to believe in common law marriage when they have children – 55% of households with children think that common law marriage exists, whilst only 41% of households without any children do so. Commenting on the figures Anne Barlow, Professor of Family Law and Policy at the University of Exeter, which commissioned the survey, said: “Cohabiting couples now account for the fastest growing type of household and the number of opposite sex cohabiting couple families with dependent children has more than doubled in the last decade. Yet whilst people’s attitudes towards marriage and cohabitation have shifted, policy has failed to keep up with the times. The result is often severe financial hardship for the more vulnerable party in the event of separation, such as women who have interrupted their career to raise children. Therefore, it’s absolutely crucial that we raise awareness of the difference between cohabitation, civil partnership and marriage and any differences in rights that come with each.” Exactly. We must continue to try to raise awareness, and also press for basic property rights for (former) cohabitees.

And finally, almost unnoticed amongst all the other news, this has been Family Mediation Week, an annual campaign organised by The Family Mediators Association which “aims to raise awareness of mediation and how it can help separating families manage their issues collaboratively and productively.” For further information, I would refer the reader to the series of posts here on the subject this week from Stowe Family Law partner Graham Coy, who is himself a member of the Association.

Have a good weekend.

The post A Week In Family Law: A Domestic Abuse Bill, the myth of common law marriage, and more appeared first on Stowe Family Law.


Go to Source
Author: John Bolch

Leeches Reconsidered

A therapeutic leech on skin

Modern medicine sucks it up

I’m not particularly squeamish at the sight of blood. Needles, on the other hand—or, let’s say, any sharp objects that could be used, intentionally or otherwise, to put a hole in my skin—give me the creeps. I can deal with injections and blood tests and so on as long as I don’t have to watch, but that sensation of having something poking under my skin…well, it gets under my skin. I’m also not crazy about slimy or wriggly things—food, plant, animal, or otherwise. (This was not always the case. When I was very young I loved to play with earthworms. Once I accidentally, uh, broke one, and I was terribly upset. I took the pieces to a neighbor who was a nurse and insisted that she put the worm back together with a band-aid. She did. Poor woman. Poor worm.) Thus it should come as no surprise that leeches—by virtue of being slimy, wriggly, and putting holes in the skin—are pretty high on my “icky” list.

Teaching an Old Leech New Tricks

I cringe when I read old stories about bloodletting and other medical practices that, by today’s standards, would be considered insane. Although doctors of centuries past surely felt their logic was sound, they were working from incorrect assumptions, and such tactics caused untold suffering. Stories of the medicinal use of leeches, in particular, always disturbed me. It’s one thing to use a medical device to remove blood from someone’s body, but applying a blood-sucking creature just seemed hideously wrong. I’ve never heard of mosquitoes being put to therapeutic use, never heard of a surgeon suggesting that a shark might be handy for performing an amputation. So I’ve always been grateful to live in the age of sterile instruments, antibiotics, and other modern marvels.

But in recent years I’ve been seeing more and more articles about leeches being used, once again, in medicine. I saw live leeches on display at the Pharmacy Museum in New Orleans, and I’ve seen them used on numerous TV shows (both reality and fiction). After decades of living in disdain on the general public’s “icky” list, leeches are once again gaining respectability for their medical applications. Only this time it’s not bloodletting to cure a fever, a headache, or any other random ailment; it’s a precise medical procedure to solve some very specific problems.

This Animal Really Sucks

Medicinal leeches (Hirudo medicinalis) have a sucker on each end with which they attach to a host. Their tiny mouths, located inside one of the suckers, have three jaws arranged in a Y shape—each with about 100 microscopic teeth. When these jaws bite into the flesh of a human or other animal, they create tiny, precise incisions that give the leech access to a steady supply of blood, which it then ingests. But just as interesting is the leech’s saliva, which contains among other things an anesthetic (making the bite virtually painless), a vasodilator (which expands the small blood vessels near the bite), an anti-clotting agent (which can cause the wound to keep bleeding for many hours after the leech is removed), and even antibiotic agents to prevent infection. So as animals go, there are worse things to be bitten by. Leeches suck in up to 10 times their body weight in blood—about 15–20 grams, or 3–4 teaspoons—and then drop off. A feeding lasts about 30 minutes to an hour, after which the leech doesn’t need to eat again for six months.

The modern medical application involves procedures such as skin grafts, reattachment of body parts, and reconstructive surgery in which blood flow must be directed to a new piece of skin. Getting blood to a piece of tissue is relatively easy, but siphoning the used blood away from the tissue is trickier. As a result, blood sometimes pools under the skin where it has just the opposite of the desired effect—it prevents oxygen from reaching the tissue. In such cases, what the patient needs is a minuscule incision, constant negative pressure to draw the excess blood out, a way to expand the blood vessels for maximum blood flow, and a way to prevent the opening from clotting until proper circulation has been established. This turns out to be a perfect match for the leech’s résumé; it can accomplish all this much more efficiently, precisely, and safely than using conventional medical equipment. As a matter of fact, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has formally classified medicinal leeches as medical devices. Now they are being used daily, by the thousands, in well-equipped hospitals all over the world.

Like used syringes, “used” leeches must be disposed of; reusing them on another patient could transmit diseases found in the first patient’s blood. I’ve heard that some are discarded along with used sharps (and then incinerated by a plasma arc waste disposal system), while others are disposed of by dunking them in ethyl alcohol or putting them in caustic soda. I have not heard whether such disposal methods raise the hackles of animal-rights groups. Medicinal leeches are, after all, considered a “near threatened” species in the wild. But as much as I like animals, I’d have trouble feeling sympathy for a euthanized leech, even if it did just save my skin.

Leeches are not the only slimy critters being put to medical use. Maggots, for example, are becoming a popular choice for debriding major wounds because they eat only dead flesh, leaving the healthy tissue intact. I’m all in favor of “natural” cures, and I’d like to think that if I ever experienced an injury for which leeches or maggots were an appropriate treatment, I’d have the grace and fortitude to suppress my “ick” reflex. All the same, the researchers working to create a mechanical substitute for medicinal leeches have my complete support.

Note: This is an updated version of an article that originally appeared on Interesting Thing of the Day on February 19. 2005.

Image credit: Pixabay


Go to Source
Author: Joe Kissell

Opposite Day

Opposite-colored pigeons

It’s Opposite Day, or National Opposite Day, if you’re in the United States. Which means you probably can’t believe anything you hear or read. Assume, for example, that anything tweeted today by members of the Executive Branch of the United States is meant to mislead you—all in the name of good fun, of course! Most likely the opposite is true.

On Opposite Day, it’s important to remember the difference between an argument and a contradiction. But if you should happen to be enslaved by a group of androids, you can use Opposite Day to your advantage by overloading their logic circuits. There’s an easy way to do this, and there’s a hard way.

Image credit: Pixabay


Go to Source
Author: Joe Kissell

Family Mediation Week Day 4: Learn to respect for the benefit of the children

Day 4 of Family Mediation Week’s theme is “the clouds are parting”.

Previously this week, as supporters of mediation and Family Mediation Week, we have focused on:

  • The mediation process
  • The substantial advantages compared to the court process
  • How children can become involved in the mediation process
  • How important it is for the children’s views to be heard
  • What children need to know when their parents are separating

Today, the Family Mediation website contains an article as to how mediation can help parties find clarity and break through any stalemate that may have risen and how separating couples can learn to respect one another especially for the benefit of their children.

Those children will remain part of the couple’s lives forever and parents need to find a way to communicate with one another, respect one another for the benefit of their children so they can find happiness and contentment as they grow up.

Also featured is “The Handover Book” to help parents communicate with one another as the children spend time with each of them. It is a useful resource.

Finally, there is another article explaining in a little bit more detail how financial matters are dealt with during the mediation.

Stowe Family Law supports mediation and is proud to support the initiative of Family Mediation Week. We have skilled and experienced mediators who can provide all the advantages which mediation offers. There contact details are below.

Sushma Kotecha, Nottingham Office, 0115 759 4534, sushma.kotecha@stowefamilylaw.co.uk

Graham Coy, London Chancery Lane Office, 020 7421 3300, graham.coy@stowefamilylaw.co.uk

Gavin Scott, London Chancery Lane Office, 020 7421 3300, gavin.scott@stowefamilylaw.co.uk

The post Family Mediation Week Day 4: Learn to respect for the benefit of the children appeared first on Stowe Family Law.


Go to Source
Author: Graham Coy

Stowe guests: Should you stay together for the children by Anna Sinski

In this instalment of Stowe guests, we are joined by Anna Sinski, a BACP-accredited integrative psychotherapist and counsellor working with clients in central London and online.

Anna helps individuals going through difficult life changes, including divorce and she joins us today to discuss how a divorce may actually benefit your children.

Chances are, you’ve heard loads of people say, “We should stay together for the kids.” Maybe you’ve even said it yourself. But despite the media and society demonizing the impact of divorce on kids, staying together often has far worse outcomes. In fact, separating may benefit your children. It all comes down to how you deal with it during and after the actual divorce.

Relationship models

First of all, I think it’s useful to explore the fact that we are (whether we realise it or not) role models for our children. They learn to imitate our behaviour and language from the youngest years and it doesn’t stop there. We are essentially their first relationship models too. It is from their parents that kids learn what relationships look like and what they should expect from their future partners. This is where they learn how relationships work, the female and male role, as well as acceptable boundaries and behaviours of both sides.

That being said, you might imagine that divorce depicts a relationship model of bitterness or a broken family. However, the truth is that it really depends on how you handle it in front of your children. Essentially, divorce highlights a relationship model where you have the option to leave if you’re unhappy. A relationship model where you deserve to be fulfilled and search for happiness, as well as one where you are allowed to change your mind.

Now imagine a reality where the child watches the parents argue and live bitter, unhappy lives for years. The relationship model they will get from that can be one where the child comes to believe that no matter what happens and no matter the unhappiness, they must endure any relationship. While in some cultures this form of sacrifice might be desirable, is that really the key to a fulfilled life?

You also have no way of knowing how years of an unhappy marriage will make you appear as a parent overall. To a large extent, the quality of our relationships defines the quality of our lives. The less happy we are in our relationships, the more likely it is that our overall happiness in other areas of life will go down. When you suffer, your child might suffer that emotional burden as well, especially because children are excellent at picking up on any tension in the air. All in all, this can be more stressful for the child in the long term. It is usually better for the child to have two happy homes than a single miserable one.

Conflict resolution

There is also a lot that kids can learn from divorce in terms of conflict resolution. Seeing two parents work through their differences while maintaining appropriate boundaries and remaining respectful is a great lesson. Using the “conflict” between you as parents as a model can teach your children how to deal with many potential disputes and difficulties throughout their lives. Moreover, it shows the kids that conflict in itself is not the end of the world and that it can be resolved peacefully.

More focused time

After the divorce (or during separation) your childcare arrangements are likely to become more structured. For one, this means that your child gets to know you more as an individual. But more importantly, this usually means they actually get more quality time with you. We’re all busy with various responsibilities, but the reality is that shared child care forces you to plan the time you are going to spend with your son or daughter. This, in turn, makes it much easier to set this time aside fully for their benefit and plan your other responsibilities for some other time or day. Thanks to this necessary planning, your children are more likely to get your undivided attention, which will make them feel more “seen”.

They learn to be more empathetic

Many marriages end in divorce and your child most likely has (or will have) some friends going through this experience. Having gone through it themselves, they will be more empathetic towards other children. This kind of experience can generally positively influence a child’s empathy towards others going through all sorts of life situations. Similarly, sharing an experience such as a divorce of the parents can make siblings more empathetic towards one another.

The impact that your divorce will have on your kids is ultimately up to you – the parents. It doesn’t have to be a traumatizing event in any way and it might not leave any negative consequences on your children. By making sure your kids are not forced to “choose” or stand in the middle of your fights, you can both end up being positive role models for them in many different ways.

Get in touch

If you would like to book a session with Anna, please call or text to 07376 041102 or send an e-mail to: anna.m.sinski@gmail.com

The post Stowe guests: Should you stay together for the children by Anna Sinski appeared first on Stowe Family Law.


Go to Source
Author: Stowe Family Law

Mother ordered to return child to different country from where he was removed

Well this is an unusual one. I don’t recall ever previously hearing of a Hague Convention child abduction case in which the court ordered the return of the child to a different country to the one from where they were removed. But that is exactly what happened in the recent High Court case S v D (Hague Convention: Domestic Abuse: Undertakings: Return to Third State).

The facts of the case were that the parents were both Hungarian nationals. They were married, and had one child, a boy aged 4 years 3 months. In early 2017 the family moved from Hungary to Germany. Thereafter, the marriage broke down and the parents separated in March 2018, when they travelled from Germany to Hungary for a short holiday, and after a few days the father returned to Germany. Shortly thereafter the mother and the child travelled to England. The mother did not return the child, and the father made an application under the Hague Convention for him to be summarily returned to Hungary.

The mother opposed the application, on the grounds that there was a grave risk that the return of the child would expose him to physical or psychological harm.

The application went before Mr Justice Cobb.

He was satisfied that the removal of the child from Germany in March 2018 was wrongful and in breach of the father’s rights of custody (this was not in issue). He said that the evidence was inconsistent with the mother’s case that the father knew that she was intending to travel to England, certainly on a permanent basis, but even if he was wrong about wrongful removal, he was absolutely satisfied that the retention was wrongful – there was no evidence that the father agreed to a permanent relocation, and it was not said that he acquiesced in the same.

Turning to the mother’s ‘harm’ defence, Mr Justice Cobb was satisfied that the father had displayed violence to her, both historically and recently. However, he was also satisfied by the various undertakings offered by the father, including to pay for the mother to return to Hungary with the child, not to assault, harass, threaten, or molest the mother or the child, not to remove the child from the care and control of the mother save for the purposes of any agreed contact, and to provide as soon as possible for the mother a two-bedroomed apartment in the city in Hungary where the father lives. These undertakings were sufficient to protect the mother and child from harm.

Accordingly, Mr Justice Cobb was prepared to order the return of the child, and he did so, after receiving the undertakings in written form, signed by the father.

As to the ‘different country’ point, he said:

“…this case has been … rendered the more unusual by the fact that the applicant seeks the return of [the child] to a ‘third state’. I dispose of this aspect now. [Counsel for the mother] submits that it would be “exceptional” for a court to order a ‘return’ to a third state. I am loath to use the word ‘exceptional’ because to do so would be to overstate the position; further, ‘exceptional’ is one of those words which once used tends to acquire quasi-statutory authority in a wholly unintended way. For my part, I would be prepared to accept that it will be an unusual case where the court will order a return to a third state, but it is in principle unobjectionable, and each case will be fact-sensitive. As it is, the mother would, it seems to me be more greatly disadvantaged in the return order being made to Germany – a country where, she says, she never wanted to live. At least in Hungary she has family and some support.”

All of which seems to me to be eminently sensible. Apart from any disadvantage to the mother in being made to return to Germany, it seems quite clear on the facts of the case that Hungary is the child’s true ‘home’ country, and that it is the courts of that country that should make any necessary decisions as to his long-term future.

You can read the full judgment here.

The post Mother ordered to return child to different country from where he was removed appeared first on Stowe Family Law.


Go to Source
Author: John Bolch