{"kind":"expression","expression":{"expr_id":"1858","doc_id":"1858","label":"PD-2014-16 - Practice Direction No 16 of 2014 International Child Abduction (Including 1980 Hague Convention) (SL 31 of 2014)","is_as_enacted":"f","commenced_on":null,"superseded_on":null,"valid_from":null,"valid_to":null,"is_current":"t","incorporating":null,"akn_expr_iri":"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\/eng@2014-01-01","akn_envelope":"{\"_canary\": {\"iri\": {\"work\": \"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\", \"expression\": \"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\/eng@2014-01-01\", \"manifestation\": \"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\/eng@2014-01-01.pdf\"}, \"pdf\": {\"md5\": \"0a7d0fe8207706c9d9c7849b60fc0754\", \"path\": \"\/Users\/q\/kyleg-data\/working\/AMENDING\/2014\/2014-0031\/2014-0031.pdf\", \"pages\": 7, \"filename\": \"2014-0031.pdf\"}, \"errors\": [], \"extraction\": {\"model\": null, \"stats\": {\"word_count\": 2456, \"paragraph_count\": 5, \"text_char_count\": 14165}, \"usage\": null, \"method\": \"pymupdf-text\", \"version\": \"kyleg-akn-1.0\", \"extracted_at\": \"2026-06-22\"}, \"classification\": \"text_layer\", \"validation_flags\": [], \"docai_processor_id\": null}, \"akomaNtoso\": {\"act\": {\"body\": [{\"eId\": \"sec_n1\", \"num\": null, \"text\": \"dated 30 June, 2014. PRACTICE DIRECTION No. 16\/2014 (GCR O.1, r.12) INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION (INCLUDING 1980 HAGUE CONVENTION) PRACTICE DIRECTION No. 16\/2014 (GCR O.1, r.12) INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION (INCLUDING 1980 HAGUE CONVENTION) Part 1\", \"element\": \"section\", \"heading\": null}, {\"eId\": \"sec_1\", \"num\": \"1.\", \"text\": \"Introduction 1.1 This Practice Direction explains what to do if a child has been brought to, or kept in, the Cayman Islands without the permission of anyone who has rights of custody in respect of the child in the country where the child was habitually resident immediately before the removal or retention. It also explains what to do if a child has been taken out of, or kept out of, the Cayman Islands without the permission of a parent or someone who has rights of custody in respect of the child. These cases are called \u201cinternational child abduction cases\u201d and are dealt with in the Grand Court. This Practice Direction also explains what to do if you receive legal papers claiming that you have abducted a child. 1.2 If you have rights of custody in respect of a child and the child has been brought to the Cayman Islands without your permission, or has been brought here with your permission but the person your child is staying with is refusing to return the child, then you can apply to the Grand Court for an order for the return of the child. 1.3 How you make an application to the Grand Court, what evidence you need to provide and what orders you should ask the court to make are all explained in this Practice Direction. 1.4 If your child is under 16 years of age and has been brought to the Cayman Islands from a country which is a party (a \u201cState party\u201d) to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (\u201cthe 1980 Hague Convention\u201d) then you can make an application to the Grand Court for an order under that Convention for the return of your child to the State in which he or she was habitually resident immediately before being removed or being kept away. This is explained in Part 2 below. 1.5 If your child is over 16 years of age and under 18, or has been brought to England or Wales from a country which is not a State party to the 1980 Hague Convention, then you can make an application for the return of your child under the inherent jurisdiction of the Grand Court with respect to children. In exercising this jurisdiction over children, the Grand Court will make your child\u2019s welfare its paramount consideration. How to make an application under the inherent jurisdiction of the Grand Court with respect to children is explained in Part 3 below. 1.6 It might be necessary for you to make an urgent application to the court if you are not sure where your child is, or you think that there is a risk that the person who is keeping your child away from you might take the child out of the Cayman Islands or hide them away. Part 4 below explains how to make an urgent application to the Grand Court for orders to protect your child until a final decision can be made about returning the child and also how to ask for help from the police and government agencies if you think your child might be taken out of the country. PART 2\", \"element\": \"section\", \"heading\": null}, {\"eId\": \"sec_2\", \"num\": \"2.\", \"text\": \"Hague Convention Cases 2.1 States which are party to the 1980 Hague Convention have agreed to return children who have been either wrongfully removed from, or wrongfully retained away from, the State where they were habitually resident immediately before the wrongful removal or retention. There are very limited exceptions to this obligation. 2.2 \u201cWrongfully removed\u201d or \u201cwrongfully retained\u201d means removed or retained in breach of rights of custody in respect of the child attributed to a person or a body or an institution. \u201cRights of custody\u201d are interpreted very widely (see paragraph 2.12 below). 2.3 The text of the 1980 Hague Convention and a list of Contracting States (that is, State parties) can be found on the website of The Hague Conference on Private International Law at http:\/\/www.hcch.net. The Cayman Islands are a party to the Convention. 2.4 In each State party there is a body called the Central Authority whose duty is to help people use the 1980 Hague Convention. 2.5 If you think that your child has been brought to, or kept in, the Cayman Islands, and your State is a State party to the 1980 Hague Convention, then you should get in touch with your own Central Authority who will help you to send an application for the return of your child to the Central Authority for Cayman Islands. However, you are not obliged to contact your own Central Authority. You may contact the Central Authority for the Cayman Islands directly, or you may simply instruct attorneys at law in the Cayman Islands to make an application for you. 2.6 The Central Authority for the Cayman Islands The Central Authority for the Cayman Islands is located in the Office of the Solicitor General\/Attorney General and its contact details are as follows: DMS House Genesis Close, George Town PO Box 907 Grand Cayman  KY1-1103 Tel:  (345) 946-0022 Fax: (345) 946-0019 Contact:  Suzanne Bothwell Email:  Suzanne.Bothwell@gov.ky In an emergency (including out of normal working hours) contact should be made with the Grand Court on:  (345) 323 0341 2.7 What the Central Authority will do When the Central Authority receives your application for the return of your child, unless you already have a legal representative in the Cayman Islands whom you want to act for you, it will send your application to an attorney at law whom it knows to be experienced in international child abduction cases and ask them to take the case for you. You will then be the attorney at law\u2019s client and the attorney at law will make an application for public funding to meet your legal costs if you are unable to pay.  The attorney at law will then apply to the Grand Court for an order for the return of your child 2.8 Applying to the Grand Court - The Form and Content of Application An application to the Grand Court for an order under the 1980 Hague Convention must be made in the Registry of the Family Division in Form C53 (attached). 2.9 The application must include \u2013 (a) the names and dates of birth of the children; (b) the names of the children\u2019s parents or guardians; (c) the whereabouts or suspected whereabouts of the children; (d) the interest of the applicant in the matter (e.g. mother, father, or person with whom the child lives and details of any order placing the child with that person); (e) the reasons for the application; (f) details of any proceedings (including proceedings not in the Cayman Islands, and including any legal proceedings which have finished) relating to the children; (g) where the application is for the return of a child, the identity of the person alleged to have removed or retained the child and, if different, the identity of the person with whom the child is thought to be. 2.10 The application should be accompanied by all relevant documents including (but not limited to) \u2013 (a) an authenticated copy of any relevant decision or agreement; (b) a certificate or an affidavit from a Central Authority, or other competent authority of the State of the child\u2019s habitual residence, or from a qualified person, concerning the relevant law of that State. 2.11 As the applicant you may also file a statement in support of the application, although usually your attorney at law will make and file a statement for you on your instructions. The statement must contain and be verified by a statement of truth in the following terms: \u201cI make this statement knowing that it will be placed before the court, and I confirm that to the best of my knowledge and belief its contents are true.\u201d 2.12 Rights of Custody \u201cRights of custody\u201d includes rights relating to the care of the child and, in particular, the right to determine the child\u2019s place of residence. Rights of custody may arise by operation of law (that is, they are conferred on someone automatically by the legal system in which they are living) or by a judicial or administrative decision or as a result of an agreement having legal effect. The rights of a person, an institution or any other body are a matter for the law of the State of the child\u2019s habitual residence, but it is for the State which is being asked to return the child to decide: (i) if those rights amount to rights of custody for the purposes of the 1980 Hague Convention; (ii) whether at the time of the removal or retention those rights were actually being exercised; and (iii) whether there has been a breach of those rights. 2.13 In the Cayman Islands a father who is not married to the mother of their child does not necessarily have \u201crights of custody\u201d in respect of the child. An unmarried father in the Cayman Islands who has parental responsibility for a child has rights of custody in respect of that child. In the case of an unmarried father without parental responsibility, the concept of rights of custody may include more than strictly legal rights and where immediately before the removal or retention of the child he was exercising parental functions over a substantial period of time as the only or main carer for the child he may have rights of custody. An unmarried father can ask the Central Authority or his legal representative for advice on this. It is important to remember that it will be for the State which is being asked to return the child to decide if the father\u2019s circumstances meet that State\u2019s requirements for the establishment of rights of custody. 2.14 Sometimes, court orders impose restrictions on the removal of children from the country in which they are living. These can be orders under the Children Law (2012 Revision) (\u201csection 10\u201d orders) or orders under the inherent jurisdiction of the Grand Court (sometimes called \u201cinjunctions\u201d). Any removal of a child in breach of an order imposing such a restriction would be wrongful under the 1980 Hague Convention. 2.15 The fact that court proceedings are in progress about a child, does not of itself give rise to a prohibition on the removal of the child by a parent with sole parental responsibility unless: (a) the proceedings are Wardship proceedings in the Cayman Islands (in which case removal would breach the rights of custody attributed to the Grand Court and fathers with no custody rights could rely on that breach); or (b) the court is actually considering the custody of the child, because then the court itself would have rights of custody. Defending Abduction Proceedings 2.16 If you are served with an application - whether it is under the 1980 Hague or the inherent jurisdiction of the Grand Court - you must not delay. You must obey any directions given in any order with which you have been served, and you should seek legal advice at the earliest possible opportunity, although neither you nor the child concerned will automatically be entitled to legal aid. 2.17 It is particularly important that you tell the court where the child is, because the child will not be permitted to live anywhere else without the permission of the court, or to leave the Cayman Islands, until the proceedings are finished. 2.18 It is also particularly important that you present to the court any defence to the application which you or the child might want to make at the earliest possible opportunity, although the orders with which you will have been served are likely to tell you the time by which you will have to do this. 2.19 If the child concerned objects to any order sought in relation to them, and if the child is of an age and understanding at which the court will take account of their views, the court is likely to direct that the child is seen by an officer of the Department of Children and Family Services. You should cooperate in this process. Children are not usually made parties to abduction cases, but in certain exceptional circumstances the court can make them parties so that they have their own separate legal representation. These are all matters about which you should seek legal advice. PART 3\", \"element\": \"section\", \"heading\": null}, {\"eId\": \"sec_3\", \"num\": \"3.\", \"text\": \"Non-Convention Cases 3.1 Applications for the return of children wrongfully removed or retained away from States which are not parties to the 1980 Hague Convention or in respect of children to whom that Convention does not apply, can be made to the Grand Court under its inherent jurisdiction with respect to children. Such proceedings are referred to as \u201cnon-Convention\u201d cases. In proceedings under the inherent jurisdiction of the Grand Court with respect to children, the child\u2019s welfare is the court\u2019s paramount consideration. The extent of the court\u2019s enquiry into the child\u2019s welfare will depend on the circumstances of the case; in some cases the child\u2019s welfare will be best served by a summary hearing and, if necessary, a prompt return to the State from which the child has been removed or retained. In other cases a more detailed enquiry may be necessary (see Re J (Child Returned Abroad: Convention Rights) [2005] UKHL 40; [2005] 2 FLR 802). 3.2 Every application for the return of a child under the inherent jurisdiction must be made in the Registry of the Family Division and heard in the Grand Court. 3.3 The Form and Content of the Application An application for the return of a child under the inherent jurisdiction must be made in Form C54 (attached) and must include the information in paragraph 2.9 above. 3.4 You must file a statement in support of your application, which must exhibit all the relevant documents. The statement must contain and be verified by a statement of truth in the following terms: \u201cI make this statement knowing that it will be placed before the court, and confirm that to the best of my knowledge and belief its contents are true.\u201d PART 4\", \"element\": \"section\", \"heading\": null}, {\"eId\": \"sec_4\", \"num\": \"4.\", \"text\": \"General Provisions 4.1 When a child has been abducted and a judge considers that publicity may help in tracing the child, the judge may adjourn the case for a short period to enable representatives of the Press to give the case the widest possible publicity. DATED this 30th day of May 2014 The Hon. Anthony Smellie, QC Chief Justice\", \"element\": \"section\", \"heading\": null}], \"meta\": {\"notes\": null, \"workflow\": null, \"lifecycle\": {\"source\": \"#cilegis\", \"eventRef\": [{\"eId\": \"e_commence_2014_01_01\", \"date\": \"2014-01-01\", \"type\": \"generation\", \"source\": \"#cilegis\"}]}, \"references\": {\"source\": \"#canary\", \"TLCRole\": [], \"TLCEvent\": [{\"eId\": \"ev_commencement\", \"href\": \"\/akn\/ontology\/canary\/event\/commencement\", \"showAs\": \"commencement\"}], \"TLCPerson\": [], \"TLCConcept\": [{\"eId\": \"inForce\", \"href\": \"\/akn\/ontology\/canary\/concept\/temporal\/in-force\", \"showAs\": \"in force\"}], \"TLCProcess\": [], \"TLCLocation\": [], \"TLCOrganization\": [{\"eId\": \"cilegis\", \"href\": \"\/akn\/ontology\/canary\/organization\/editor\/cilegis\", \"showAs\": \"Cayman Islands legislation mirror (kyleg)\"}]}, \"temporalData\": {\"source\": \"#cilegis\", \"temporalGroup\": [{\"eId\": \"tg_inforce_2014_01_01\", \"timeInterval\": [{\"end\": null, \"start\": \"#e_commence_2014_01_01\", \"duration\": null, \"refersTo\": \"#inForce\"}]}]}, \"classification\": null, \"identification\": {\"source\": \"#cilegis\", \"FRBRWork\": {\"FRBRuri\": \"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\", \"FRBRdate\": [{\"date\": \"2014-01-01\", \"name\": \"generation\"}], \"FRBRthis\": \"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\/!main\", \"FRBRalias\": [{\"name\": \"cmsId\", \"value\": \"2014-0031\"}], \"FRBRauthor\": [{\"as\": \"#editor\", \"href\": \"\/akn\/ontology\/canary\/organization\/editor\/cilegis\"}], \"FRBRnumber\": \"31 of 2014\", \"FRBRcountry\": \"ky\", \"FRBRsubtype\": \"amending\"}, \"FRBRExpression\": {\"FRBRuri\": \"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\/eng@2014-01-01\", \"FRBRdate\": [{\"date\": \"2014-01-01\", \"name\": \"generation\"}], \"FRBRthis\": \"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\/eng@2014-01-01\/!main\", \"FRBRauthor\": [{\"as\": \"#editor\", \"href\": \"\/akn\/ontology\/canary\/organization\/editor\/cilegis\"}], \"FRBRlanguage\": \"eng\"}, \"FRBRManifestation\": {\"FRBRuri\": \"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\/eng@2014-01-01.xml\", \"FRBRdate\": [{\"date\": \"2026-06-22\", \"name\": \"generation\"}], \"FRBRthis\": \"\/akn\/ky\/act\/amending\/2014\/31\/eng@2014-01-01.xml\", \"FRBRauthor\": [{\"as\": \"#editor\", \"href\": \"\/akn\/ontology\/canary\/organization\/editor\/cilegis\"}], \"FRBRformat\": \"application\/xml\"}}}, \"name\": \"act\", \"header\": {\"title\": \"PD-2014-16 - Practice Direction No 16 of 2014 International Child Abduction (Including 1980 Hague Convention) (SL 31 of 2014)\", \"actNumber\": \"31 of 2014\", \"longTitle\": null}}, \"doc\": null, \"bill\": null, \"judgment\": null}}","akn_full_text":"CAYMAN ISLANDS\n\nSupplement No. 4 published with Gazette No. 13\ndated 30 June, 2014.\n\nPRACTICE DIRECTION No. 16\/2014\n(GCR O.1, r.12)\n\nINTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION (INCLUDING 1980 HAGUE CONVENTION)\n\n1\nPRACTICE DIRECTION No. 16\/2014\n\n(GCR O.1, r.12)\n\nINTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION (INCLUDING 1980 HAGUE CONVENTION)\n\nPart 1\n\n1.\nIntroduction\n\n1.1\nThis Practice Direction explains what to do if a child has been brought to, or kept in, the\nCayman Islands without the permission of anyone who has rights of custody in respect of\nthe child in the country where the child was habitually resident immediately before the\nremoval or retention. It also explains what to do if a child has been taken out of, or kept out\nof, the Cayman Islands without the permission of a parent or someone who has rights of\ncustody in respect of the child. These cases are called \u201cinternational child abduction cases\u201d\nand are dealt with in the Grand Court. This Practice Direction also explains what to do if\nyou receive legal papers claiming that you have abducted a child.\n\n1.2\nIf you have rights of custody in respect of a child and the child has been brought to the\nCayman Islands without your permission, or has been brought here with your permission\nbut the person your child is staying with is refusing to return the child, then you can apply\nto the Grand Court for an order for the return of the child.\n\n1.3\nHow you make an application to the Grand Court, what evidence you need to provide and\nwhat orders you should ask the court to make are all explained in this Practice Direction.\n\n1.4\nIf your child is under 16 years of age and has been brought to the Cayman Islands from a\ncountry which is a party (a \u201cState party\u201d) to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil\nAspects of International Child Abduction (\u201cthe 1980 Hague Convention\u201d) then you can\nmake an application to the Grand Court for an order under that Convention for the return of\nyour child to the State in which he or she was habitually resident immediately before being\nremoved or being kept away. This is explained in Part 2 below.\n\n1.5\nIf your child is over 16 years of age and under 18, or has been brought to England or Wales\nfrom a country which is not a State party to the 1980 Hague Convention, then you can\nmake an application for the return of your child under the inherent jurisdiction of the Grand\nCourt with respect to children. In exercising this jurisdiction over children, the Grand Court\nwill make your child\u2019s welfare its paramount consideration. How to make an application\nunder the inherent jurisdiction of the Grand Court with respect to children is explained in\nPart 3 below.\n\n1.6\nIt might be necessary for you to make an urgent application to the court if you are not sure\nwhere your child is, or you think that there is a risk that the person who is keeping your\nchild away from you might take the child out of the Cayman Islands or hide them away.\n\n2\nPart 4 below explains how to make an urgent application to the Grand Court for orders to\nprotect your child until a final decision can be made about returning the child and also how\nto ask for help from the police and government agencies if you think your child might be\ntaken out of the country.\n\nPART 2\n\n2.\nHague Convention Cases\n\n2.1\nStates which are party to the 1980 Hague Convention have agreed to return children who\nhave been either wrongfully removed from, or wrongfully retained away from, the State\nwhere they were habitually resident immediately before the wrongful removal or retention.\nThere are very limited exceptions to this obligation.\n\n2.2\n\u201cWrongfully removed\u201d or \u201cwrongfully retained\u201d means removed or retained in breach of\nrights of custody in respect of the child attributed to a person or a body or an institution.\n\u201cRights of custody\u201d are interpreted very widely (see paragraph 2.12 below).\n\n2.3\nThe text of the 1980 Hague Convention and a list of Contracting States (that is, State\nparties) can be found on the website of The Hague Conference on Private International\nLaw at http:\/\/www.hcch.net. The Cayman Islands are a party to the Convention.\n\n2.4\nIn each State party there is a body called the Central Authority whose duty is to help people\nuse the 1980 Hague Convention.\n\n2.5\nIf you think that your child has been brought to, or kept in, the Cayman Islands, and your\nState is a State party to the 1980 Hague Convention, then you should get in touch with your\nown Central Authority who will help you to send an application for the return of your child\nto the Central Authority for Cayman Islands. However, you are not obliged to contact your\nown Central Authority. You may contact the Central Authority for the Cayman Islands\ndirectly, or you may simply instruct attorneys at law in the Cayman Islands to make an\napplication for you.\n\n2.6\nThe Central Authority for the Cayman Islands\n\nThe Central Authority for the Cayman Islands is located in the Office of the Solicitor\nGeneral\/Attorney General and its contact details are as follows:\n\nDMS House\nGenesis Close, George Town\nPO Box 907\nGrand Cayman  KY1-1103\nCAYMAN ISLANDS\nTel:  (345) 946-0022\nFax: (345) 946-0019\nContact:  Suzanne Bothwell\nEmail:  Suzanne.Bothwell@gov.ky\n\n3\n\nIn an emergency (including out of normal working hours) contact should be made with the\nGrand Court on:  (345) 323 0341\n\n2.7\nWhat the Central Authority will do\n\nWhen the Central Authority receives your application for the return of your child, unless\nyou already have a legal representative in the Cayman Islands whom you want to act for\nyou, it will send your application to an attorney at law whom it knows to be experienced in\ninternational child abduction cases and ask them to take the case for you. You will then be\nthe attorney at law\u2019s client and the attorney at law will make an application for public\nfunding to meet your legal costs if you are unable to pay.  The attorney at law will then\napply to the Grand Court for an order for the return of your child\n\n2.8\nApplying to the Grand Court - The Form and Content of Application\n\nAn application to the Grand Court for an order under the 1980 Hague Convention must be\nmade in the Registry of the Family Division in Form C53 (attached).\n\n2.9\nThe application must include \u2013\n\n(a)\nthe names and dates of birth of the children;\n(b)\nthe names of the children\u2019s parents or guardians;\n(c)\nthe whereabouts or suspected whereabouts of the children;\n(d)\nthe interest of the applicant in the matter (e.g. mother, father, or person with whom\nthe child lives and details of any order placing the child with that person);\n(e)\nthe reasons for the application;\n(f)\ndetails of any proceedings (including proceedings not in the Cayman Islands, and\nincluding any legal proceedings which have finished) relating to the children;\n(g)\nwhere the application is for the return of a child, the identity of the person alleged to\nhave removed or retained the child and, if different, the identity of the person with\nwhom the child is thought to be.\n\n2.10\nThe application should be accompanied by all relevant documents including (but not\nlimited to) \u2013\n\n(a)\nan authenticated copy of any relevant decision or agreement;\n(b)\na certificate or an affidavit from a Central Authority, or other competent authority\nof the State of the child\u2019s habitual residence, or from a qualified person, concerning\nthe relevant law of that State.\n\n2.11\nAs the applicant you may also file a statement in support of the application, although\nusually your attorney at law will make and file a statement for you on your instructions.\nThe statement must contain and be verified by a statement of truth in the following terms:\n\n\u201cI make this statement knowing that it will be placed before the court, and I\nconfirm that to the best of my knowledge and belief its contents are true.\u201d\n\n4\n2.12\nRights of Custody\n\n\u201cRights of custody\u201d includes rights relating to the care of the child and, in particular, the\nright to determine the child\u2019s place of residence. Rights of custody may arise by operation\nof law (that is, they are conferred on someone automatically by the legal system in which\nthey are living) or by a judicial or administrative decision or as a result of an agreement\nhaving legal effect. The rights of a person, an institution or any other body are a matter for\nthe law of the State of the child\u2019s habitual residence, but it is for the State which is being\nasked to return the child to decide: (i) if those rights amount to rights of custody for the\npurposes of the 1980 Hague Convention; (ii) whether at the time of the removal or\nretention those rights were actually being exercised; and (iii) whether there has been a\nbreach of those rights.\n\n2.13\nIn the Cayman Islands a father who is not married to the mother of their child does not\nnecessarily have \u201crights of custody\u201d in respect of the child. An unmarried father in the\nCayman Islands who has parental responsibility for a child has rights of custody in respect\nof that child. In the case of an unmarried father without parental responsibility, the concept\nof rights of custody may include more than strictly legal rights and where immediately\nbefore the removal or retention of the child he was exercising parental functions over a\nsubstantial period of time as the only or main carer for the child he may have rights of\ncustody. An unmarried father can ask the Central Authority or his legal representative for\nadvice on this. It is important to remember that it will be for the State which is being asked\nto return the child to decide if the father\u2019s circumstances meet that State\u2019s requirements for\nthe establishment of rights of custody.\n\n2.14\nSometimes, court orders impose restrictions on the removal of children from the country in\nwhich they are living. These can be orders under the Children Law (2012 Revision)\n(\u201csection 10\u201d orders) or orders under the inherent jurisdiction of the Grand Court\n(sometimes called \u201cinjunctions\u201d). Any removal of a child in breach of an order imposing\nsuch a restriction would be wrongful under the 1980 Hague Convention.\n\n2.15\nThe fact that court proceedings are in progress about a child, does not of itself give rise to a\nprohibition on the removal of the child by a parent with sole parental responsibility unless:\n\n(a)\nthe proceedings are Wardship proceedings in the Cayman Islands (in which case\nremoval would breach the rights of custody attributed to the Grand Court and\nfathers with no custody rights could rely on that breach); or\n\n(b)\nthe court is actually considering the custody of the child, because then the court\nitself would have rights of custody.\n\nDefending Abduction Proceedings\n\n2.16\nIf you are served with an application - whether it is under the 1980 Hague or the inherent\njurisdiction of the Grand Court - you must not delay. You must obey any directions given\nin any order with which you have been served, and you should seek legal advice at the\nearliest possible opportunity, although neither you nor the child concerned will\nautomatically be entitled to legal aid.\n\n5\n\n2.17\nIt is particularly important that you tell the court where the child is, because the child will\nnot be permitted to live anywhere else without the permission of the court, or to leave the\nCayman Islands, until the proceedings are finished.\n\n2.18\nIt is also particularly important that you present to the court any defence to the application\nwhich you or the child might want to make at the earliest possible opportunity, although the\norders with which you will have been served are likely to tell you the time by which you\nwill have to do this.\n\n2.19\nIf the child concerned objects to any order sought in relation to them, and if the child is of\nan age and understanding at which the court will take account of their views, the court is\nlikely to direct that the child is seen by an officer of the Department of Children and Family\nServices. You should cooperate in this process. Children are not usually made parties to\nabduction cases, but in certain exceptional circumstances the court can make them parties\nso that they have their own separate legal representation. These are all matters about which\nyou should seek legal advice.\n\nPART 3\n\n3.\nNon-Convention Cases\n\n3.1\nApplications for the return of children wrongfully removed or retained away from States\nwhich are not parties to the 1980 Hague Convention or in respect of children to whom that\nConvention does not apply, can be made to the Grand Court under its inherent jurisdiction\nwith respect to children. Such proceedings are referred to as \u201cnon-Convention\u201d cases. In\nproceedings under the inherent jurisdiction of the Grand Court with respect to children, the\nchild\u2019s welfare is the court\u2019s paramount consideration. The extent of the court\u2019s enquiry\ninto the child\u2019s welfare will depend on the circumstances of the case; in some cases the\nchild\u2019s welfare will be best served by a summary hearing and, if necessary, a prompt return\nto the State from which the child has been removed or retained. In other cases a more\ndetailed enquiry may be necessary (see Re J (Child Returned Abroad: Convention Rights)\n[2005] UKHL 40; [2005] 2 FLR 802).\n\n3.2\nEvery application for the return of a child under the inherent jurisdiction must be made in\nthe Registry of the Family Division and heard in the Grand Court.\n\n3.3\nThe Form and Content of the Application\n\nAn application for the return of a child under the inherent jurisdiction must be made in\nForm C54 (attached) and must include the information in paragraph 2.9 above.\n\n3.4\nYou must file a statement in support of your application, which must exhibit all the\nrelevant documents. The statement must contain and be verified by a statement of truth in\nthe following terms:\n\n6\n\u201cI make this statement knowing that it will be placed before the court, and\nconfirm that to the best of my knowledge and belief its contents are true.\u201d\n\nPART 4\n\n4.\nGeneral Provisions\n\n4.1\nWhen a child has been abducted and a judge considers that publicity may help in tracing\nthe child, the judge may adjourn the case for a short period to enable representatives of the\nPress to give the case the widest possible publicity.\n\nDATED this 30th day of May 2014\n\nThe Hon. Anthony Smellie, QC\nChief Justice","akn_extracted_at":"2026-06-22 15:41:55.439294+00","cms_id":"2014-0031","law_type":"amending","year":"2014","number":"31","title":"PD-2014-16 - Practice Direction No 16 of 2014 International Child Abduction (Including 1980 Hague Convention) (SL 31 of 2014)","status":"spent"},"provenance":{"files":[{"file_id":"6673","expr_id":"1858","kind":"akn_xml","filename":"2014-0031.akn.xml","source_url":null,"storage_path":"\/Users\/q\/kyleg-data\/working\/AMENDING\/2014\/2014-0031\/2014-0031.akn.xml","content_md5":"86fc274db9f67a2ef4173ee907bed5c9","byte_size":"17267","http_last_modified":null,"fetched_at":"2026-06-22 15:41:55.495166+00"},{"file_id":"3715","expr_id":"1858","kind":"pristine_pdf","filename":"2014-0031.pdf","source_url":"\/cms\/images\/LEGISLATION\/AMENDING\/2014\/2014-0031\/2014-0031.pdf","storage_path":"\/Users\/q\/kyleg-data\/pristine\/AMENDING\/2014\/2014-0031\/2014-0031.pdf","content_md5":"0a7d0fe8207706c9d9c7849b60fc0754","byte_size":"214876","http_last_modified":null,"fetched_at":"2026-06-16 04:01:11.054816+00"},{"file_id":"3716","expr_id":"1858","kind":"working_pdf","filename":"2014-0031.pdf","source_url":"\/cms\/images\/LEGISLATION\/AMENDING\/2014\/2014-0031\/2014-0031.pdf","storage_path":"\/Users\/q\/kyleg-data\/working\/AMENDING\/2014\/2014-0031\/2014-0031.pdf","content_md5":"0a7d0fe8207706c9d9c7849b60fc0754","byte_size":"214876","http_last_modified":null,"fetched_at":"2026-06-16 04:01:11.054816+00"}],"paragraph_count":2,"latest_history":null},"quality":{"expr_id":"1858","doc_id":"1858","quality_state":"known_issue","quality_score":"75","needs_human_review":"t","deterministic_categories":"{title_mismatch}","llm_categories":"{}","repair_actions":"{strip_page_furniture,verify_title_metadata}","finding_severity_counts":"{\"high\": 1}","finding_summary":"stored title is not visible in the opening extracted text","assessed_at":"2026-06-22 15:29:46.563499+00","updated_at":"2026-06-22 15:29:46.563499+00"}}