AB, Re [2002] EWCOP 47

Application by the P's mother for the court to recognise Letters of Guardianship granted by a US court, which confer authority on the mother to make decisions in respect of the P's person, and to determine a challenge to the standard authorisation in respect of deprivation of liberty in the P's current living arrangements by returning her to the care of her mother. The application for recognition of Letters of Guardianship was refused on the grounds of public policy and the challenge to the current authorisation was dismissed.

The P is a US citizen and her mother is a British citizen. The P was taken to the UK by her mother in December 2019. The P was taken into hospital and then to a care home where a standard authorisation for deprivation of liberty was granted. The mother applied to the court to have Letters of Guardianship granted by a US court recognised by the UK court, and to challenge the standard authorisation.

The court dismissed both applications. The P remains habitually resident in the USA, and the UK court yielded jurisdiction in respect of her welfare to the courts of New York State. The application for recognition of Letters of Guardianship granted to the mother in respect of the P's person was refused on the grounds of public policy. The qualifying requirements for standard authorisation of deprivation of liberty in the P's present living arrangements were met, and the challenge to the current authorisation was dismissed.

Read the full text of the judgment on Bailii