A Father (Appellant) v A Mother (Respondent)

Case summary

Case ID

UKSC/2026/0106

Parties

Appellant(s)

A Father

Respondent(s)

A Mother

Issue

Was the decision of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland to deny the Appellant father’s application for a Residence Order in respect of the subject child, NI: (i) legally erroneous; (ii) procedurally unfair; or (iii) affected by demonstrable bias in favour of the Respondent mother?

Facts

The parties are the parents of the subject child, NI (anonymised). There is a significant history of litigation between the parties in respect of NI. The first proceedings involving NI were in 2012 in England. The Respondent mother moved with NI to Northern Ireland soon after. The Appellant father then, over many years, repeatedly sought a residence order in his favour from the courts in Northern Ireland. These attempts were all unsuccessful. A residence order in favour of the Respondent in respect of NI has been in force and upheld since 2013. From 2016-2022, the courts set out and continually updated an extensive contact regime for the Appellant in respect of NI. From 2016-2022, the courts also imposed three consecutive orders under Article 179(14) of The Children (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 (“Article 179(14) orders”). These orders prohibited the Appellant from making further court applications relating to NI without leave from the court. The Appellant seeks the return of NI to England to his care. For this purpose, the Appellant has made a further application for a residence order in respect of NI. This application was made on 9 March 2025 - the day the previous Article 179(14) order expired. The application was rejected by the High Court in Northern Ireland on 24 October 2025. A subsequent appeal was rejected by the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland on 12 May 2026. The Appellant now appeals to the Supreme Court.

Date of issue

23 July 2026

Case origin

PTA

Permission to Appeal

Justices

Lord Briggs

Lord Burrows

Lord Stephens

Permission to Appeal decision date

28 September 2026

Permission to Appeal decision

Refused

The application does not raise an arguable point of law or a point of law of general public importance.

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