The Family Law Pod from St John’s Chambers

Case law update #2 – private law children – return orders and costs


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Our Family Law Pod is created by our Family and Divorce team, and provides news, tips and insights around current family law topics, and discusses the implications of key cases and guidance. Useful for anyone involved in the family court, in particular busy solicitors.

Episode 13: Case Law Update #2 – private law children – return orders and costs

This is the second episode in our Case Law Update series and today Chelsea and Vivien are delving into two recent Children Law judgments. The cases highlighted in this episode concern the treatment of a child’s wishes and feeling in an application for a Return Order, and a reminder of the risk of costs consequences in children proceedings.

The full citations for the cases discussed are:

  • Re G (No. 2) (A Child: Return From USA) [2025] EWHC 1224 (Fam)
  • E (Children: Costs) [2025] EWCA Civ 183
  • Chelsea also refers to a previous reported decision in the Re G case in relation to habitual residence – Re G (A Child) (Jurisdiction: Habitual Residence Following Lawful Relocation) [2025] EWHC 911 (Fam).

    Vivien additionally refers to the decisions in Re J (Costs of Fact-Finding Hearing) [2009] EWCA Civ 1350, [2010] 1 FLR 1893 (Ward and Wilson LJJ) and Re T (Children) (Costs: Care Proceedings: Serious Allegation Not Proved) [2012] UKSC 36, [2013] 1 FLR 133 as discussed in E (Children: Costs) [2025] EWCA Civ 183.

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