In a judgment issued by the Court of Appeal the 6th August 2015 in F (A Child) (International Relocation Cases) [2015] EWCA Civ 882 it would seem that the court is attempting to distance itself from the guidelines outlined in Payne v Payne.
Since Payne, many believe that a gender discriminatory approach has been adopted concerning leave to remove cases; however, at paragraph 18 of the Court of Appeal’s judgment, Lord Justice McFarlane stated:
“In the decade or more since Payne it would seem odd indeed for this Court to use guidance which out of the context which was intended is redolent with gender based assumptions as to the role in relationships of parents with a child.”
The trial judge in Re F had initially granted the mother leave to move the child to Germany, however, it was decided by the Court of Appeal that an error in law had been made by relying too much on Payne v Payne and by not evaluating the harm of leave being refused against the harm that the child would suffer from being separated from her father.
For the full judgment, please visit the Bailii website.