Residence transferred to father

V v V (children) (contact: implacable hostility) FD TLR 28 May

Since the parties separated in 2000, the mother had consistently undermined and thwarted the father’s contact with the children, making serious allegations against him and his family resulting in 17 court orders before 16 different judges. Unsubstantiated allegations had been made in order to frustrate contact, the children had been subjected to emotional abuse in the process, the mother had demonstrated a lack of capacity to change and the father was well able to meet all the children’s needs. In these circumstances the need for the children to have a relationship with their father could be achieved only by transferring residence to him. However, legislation is required to give judges wider powers of enforcement in intractable contact disputes, where the parent with residence continues to undermine and frustrate contact with the non-resident parent in defiance of court orders. Procedural improvements in the court process, such as judicial continuity, case management, timetabling and proactive orders, could remedy the situation only in part.