Enforcing contact order

[KetchupKetchup]

Can any family lawyers help with this?

DS lives with me in the UK.

The foreign order states that DS must see his father every month in A country (in Europe), however his father has moved over the border to neighbouring B country. The order states that all contact must take place in A country.

Over the past year DS has only seen his father where he now lives (in B country) during the school holidays, not every month like in the order, mostly because of travel restrictions or reduced flight routes/no unaccompanied minors service due to COVID. His father has also come to visit him in the UK instead of country B for the same reason.

Now ExH has applied to the courts to enforce the order, but my question is whether it can really be enforced given that ExH no longer actually lives in the country specified in the original order?

I have no intention of preventing ExH from seeing his child, but I do think it would be better for him to travel here to see DS during term time and then DS go to him where he lives during the school holidays.

Thanks for reading

You describe this as a "foreign order". Do you mean the order was made in another country? If so, is your ex applying to the courts in that country for enforcement? If the answer to those questions is yes, you won't get a sensible answer unless we know which country it is. Even then, getting someone who knows the laws of that country on here is a long shot.

Yes, the order was made in a foreign country (country A) but it has been registered in England and enforcement has been applied for with the English courts

Well, he hasn’t stuck with the order so I’d apply for a variation based on that.

Although not sure how it would work given as the original order wasn’t made in the U.K.

It's very hard to say on so little information, but if you can satisfy the English court that changes have been for good reason, and that you have, in fact, facilitated contact, it is reasonably unlikely to start dishing out punishments.

Enforcement is very technical and literal, and the court's priority is that contact happens, not that parents are punished.

How old is your son?

He’s 8.

I’m wondering how literal the courts would be with regards to the location of the contact. If the order says that all contact will take place in one country and then the father moves to another country (albeit only 20 mins away), does all contact now have to take place in the country he now lives in (or else I am in breach of the order)? Or is he in fact in breach of the order by taking her to the new country for contact?

him*

Likely neither, unless it says he can’t take the child out of country A or into country B. If contact is happening why is he applying for enforcement?

@DeliaDinglehopper

Likely neither, unless it says he can’t take the child out of country A or into country B. If contact is happening why is he applying for enforcement?

Looking at the OP, it seems he isn't getting as much contact as ordered and the OP is making him come to the UK for some of the contact rather than contact taking place in the country where he lives.

So it does sound as though you’re trying to stop your ex from having his kid to stay by looking for a loophole that he is now in a different country 20 mins from where he was? Sounds as though you haven’t been following it anyway…? And that is why he’s having to get the enforcement order. You really should be allowing it if that’s what the order says. Is he happy to come to the UK instead?

Well seeing the order hasn't been followed and I imagine flight bookings etc will confirm this then I'm not sure he'll be successful. Especially as no one now lives in that country. Surely it needs to be held else where seeing as no one comes under the jurisdiction of that court anymore.

@liveforsummer

Well seeing the order hasn't been followed and I imagine flight bookings etc will confirm this then I'm not sure he'll be successful. Especially as no one now lives in that country. Surely it needs to be held else where seeing as no one comes under the jurisdiction of that court anymore.

It is unlikely he has broken the order. As a previous poster says, unless the order specifically states that contact must not take place in country B, he is almost certainly ok. If he was applying to have the order varied to replace country A with country B, he would appear to have a good chance of success on the information posted. The OP may also be able to get the order varied based on the change of country but, given that she tells us the father has only moved 20 minutes, it is not clear she would succeed.

If I understand correctly, he has an order saying that contact takes place where he lives, which was country A at the time of the order. Sticking with the spirit of that order, contact should now be taking place in country B since that is where he now lives. Of course, there may be good reasons why this can't happen (travelling restrictions due to the pandemic, for example). And I'm not saying the courts would enforce the order. But courts like parents to be reasonable. On the information posted, the reasonable thing for the OP to do appears to be to facilitate monthly contact in country B wherever possible.

The OP really needs to take proper legal advice rather than relying on randoms posting on the internet based on insufficient information.