The proceedings concerned a child born in the United States of America in September 2007 to a British father and an American mother. The parents married in Las Vegas in March 2010. On 1 March 2011, the father took the child to Scotland. The trip was undertaken with the agreement of the mother, but its purpose was the subject of dispute as between the parents.
On 10 May 2012, the mother filed a petition seeking the return of the child. On 9 July, the Outer House of the Court of Session ordered that the child be returned within seven days: P v P [2012] CSOH 121, 2012 G.W.D. 25-524. An appeal against that order was allowed by the Inner House of the Court of Session on 5 September 2012 for procedural reasons. A rehearing was convened in December 2012.