The children, a boy and a girl, were aged 5 and 2 at the date of the hearing. They had both been born and brought up in the Netherlands.
The parents divorced in early 2001. Thereafter, following detailed negotiations and with the assistance of family mediators, an agreement was entered into as to the care of the children. This provided that the parents would both enjoy parental responsibility, and that the children would live with the mother and have substantial contact with the father.
Several days after the agreement was signed the mother took the children to Italy, her State of origin. The father then petitioned for their return.
