AB v XS [2021] EWCOP 57

Application for the P to return to the UK from Lebanon. Application refused.

The P is a UK citizen living in Lebanon, where she moved in 2015 to be near her brother. The P is suffering from Alzheimer's Disease. Her brother died in 2016 and her cousin, supported by a nephew, wished to bring her back to the UK. The application was opposed by two other nephews who both reside in the US. They obtained a Travel Ban order from the Lebanese Court in late 2020. The three main issues before the court were:

• Whether the P is habitually resident in England and therefore the Court of Protection retains jurisdiction;
• Whether the High Court can make an order for the P to return to the UK under the inherent jurisdiction;
• Whether it is in the P's best interests to be brought back to the UK.

The court's view was that, taking all the factors together, the P's best interests were served by her remaining in Lebanon and spending her days there. In reaching this conclusion the court fully took into account the strong views of the Applicant and the nephew that the P would have wished to return to the UK. However, the court had to judge the situation as it is now, and what is in the P's interests now.

Read the full text of the judgment on Bailii