Peter Jackson J gave his 4th judgment in this case.  Here, the American adoptive mother was trying to persuade the court to recognise her Kazakh adoption of the youngest child (C) whom he had previously found that she had physically abused and gravely emotionally abused.  (For references and discussion of the 3 previous judgments please see our website HERE and HERE).

Mary Lazarus again represented the local authority who did not support recognition.
The judge analysed the application of Lord Denning’s old decision in Re Valentine’s Trust (1965) in the context of more recent decisions recognising foreign adoptions, and in the context of the development of law covering inter-country adoptions and Article 8 rights of the family.  He concluded that although the Kazakh adoption was lawfully obtained in Kazakhstan, the route of common law recognition flowing from Re Valentine’s Trust was not open to the mother.  He also determined that while public policy issues would not preclude recognition despite the reprehensible methods used by the mother to bring C into this country, that decisively it would not be in the best interests of C for this adoption to be recognised.

JUDGMENT 4 – A Council v M & Others (Foreign Adoption: Refusal of Recognition) [2013] EWHC 1501 (Fam)

21.06.2013