Rachel Cooper, barrister with Coram Chambers and instructed by Sulema Jahangir of Dawson Cornwell, represented the mother in the recently published case of The Mother v The Father v The Paternal Grandmother [2025] EWHC 1427. Hannah Gommersal also represented the Mother in the committal proceedings.
The proceedings concerned the wrongful removal of an 11-month-old baby from Pakistan to the United Kingdom by the child’s father, acting in concert with the paternal grandmother.
The court considered the matter under its inherent jurisdiction, guided by the UK-Pakistan Protocol of 17 January 2003.
The mother, a Pakistani national, maintained that she had been deceived and pressured into signing documents purporting to provide consent to the baby’s removal without knowing or understanding their content.
The evidence demonstrated that the father and paternal grandmother had conspired to abduct the child from his mother’s care, deliberately misleading both her and the court.
Deputy High Court Judge Nicholas Stonor KC ruled that the documents did not reflect genuine consent and ordered the immediate return of the baby to Pakistan.
The judgment stressed that future welfare decisions would properly be the responsibility of the Pakistan court. However, the father failed to comply with the order.
Rachel Cooper subsequently represented the mother in committal proceedings, resulting in the father’s three-month prison sentence for contempt of court, of which he served five weeks. The baby has now been safely returned to his mother in Pakistan.
This case highlights the critical importance of the UK-Pakistan Protocol in protecting children who are wrongfully removed or retained, and in mitigating the harm that inevitably flows from such unilateral actions by caregivers.
The outcome demonstrates the English courts’ robust commitment to safeguarding children’s welfare and supporting international cooperation in abduction cases.
You can read the full judgment here or below.
