The children, two boys, were 3 2/3 and 2 1/4 at the date of the alleged wrongful retention. They had lived in England, Scotland and Germany. The parents were married and had joint rights of custody.
On 20 January 1992 the family moved to Germany. On 19 July 1992 the family travelled to England. The purpose of the trip was the subject of dispute.
On 22 July 1992 the father began matrimonial and family proceedings. On 30 July 1992, the mother made a cross-application in the family proceedings and took out an originating summons under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985 for the return of the children to Germany.
The father then applied for a stay or dismissal of the child abduction proceedings as an abuse of the process of the court, on the ground that the mother, having entered an appearance in the family proceedings commenced by him, could not now avail herself of rights under the Convention.
