The children, both girls, were aged 6 1/2 and almost 5 at the date of the alleged wrongful removal. The parents were divorced, the father having custody and the mother access. The father’s custody was however restricted to the jurisdiction of the court: England and Wales. On 17 January 1988 the father took the girls to France.
On 7 April 1988 the Tribunal de Grande Instance de Grasse dismissed the return application.