The parents married in June 1993 and have four children. The current application concerns two of the children, twins, aged 7.
The family lived in Israel until June 2016, when the mother, the daughter and the twins went on holiday to Thailand. They did not return when booked to do so in July, 2016 and instead travelled to London. In the same month the mother applied for asylum for herself in the UK, listing the children as dependants. She made asylum claims for the children in their own right somewhat later. The father initially attempted to persuade the mother to return home but, on failing to do so, issued these Hague proceedings on 13 January 2017.
It was agreed that the Hague proceedings would not be heard until the Home Secretary had issued her decision on the asylum claims, which she did on 4 August 2017.
The asylum claims of the mother and the children were refused. The Home Secretary argued that while an asylum application was pending (i.e. an application that has not exhausted all rights of appeal) a return order could not be implemented.
The court considered the question of whether an asylum claim by the subject children halts an application under the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention.
