P was in his 60s and suffered from Dementia in Alzheimer’s Disease which was connected with an atypical form of Parkinson’s disease. Due to these conditions, he had a significant cognitive impairment.
He had been residing in Spain for several years with his second wife but had been brought to the UK by his two adult children without the knowledge of his second wife. The adult children were seeking a number of welfare orders concerning P, in particular an order that he resided at a care home in England, that he did not return to Spain, and that he have only supervised contact with his second wife.
After considering all the facts, in his first Judgment on 19/12/19, Mr Justice Cobb decided that P lacked capacity to make decisions about his residence, care and support needs, that his move from Spain was wrongful and that he remained habitually resident in Spain, therefore primary jurisdiction from the court had to be declined and had to be deferred to the jurisdiction of the Spanish Court.
However, it was found that Spanish proceedings could not progress while P remained in England. Further enquiries were directed by Mr Justice Cobb, including whether P was fit to travel to Spain. However, due to the Coronavirus pandemic, no order either from Spain or the Court here was capable of practical implementation now or in the near future. Therefore, the main application was adjourned to a date to be fixed for further review in the next 3-4 months.
The full judgement can be read here
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