President’s Guidance: Public law children cases with an international element
This guidance replaces the President’s Guidance of 10 November 2014: The International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU).
A substantial number of public law children cases have an international element and courts often require information from other jurisdictions before being able to proceed. It is not always easy to know how to obtain this information.
While it may not always be possible to obtain the information sufficiently quickly to enable the court to hear these cases within 26 weeks, I am very grateful to the central authority teams – the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) for England and the Welsh Government for Wales – for providing the following details, which will help practitioners to follow the correct route to obtain information to help the court when necessary. It has been approved by Lord Justice Moylan and the Senior Master.
Practitioners will also need to be alive to Chapter VI of Part 12 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 as amended1, and to The Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children (International Obligations) (England and Wales and Northern Ireland) Regulations 20102 SI 2010/1898.
Sir Andrew McFarlane
President of the Family Division
January 2025
- Read the full PFD ICACU Guidance below.
Procedure rules cited 1
Explicit references found in this document. A reference that names only a Part number without its rulebook is not matched — that citation is ambiguous across the Civil, Family and Criminal rules.
- FPR Part 12Proceedings Relating to Children Except Parental Order Proceedings and Proceedings for Applications in Adoption, Placement and Related Proceedings
cited asPart 12 of the Family Procedure Rules
…r Master. Practitioners will also need to be alive to Chapter VI of Part 12 of the Family Procedure Rules 2010 as amended1, and to The Parental Responsibility and Measures for…