In response to the judgment MK v CK [2011] EWCA Civ 793 we wish to make the following announcement:
The Relocation Campaign welcomes the Court of Appeal's acceptance that the guidance within Payne v Payne harks back to a stereotypically 1970s view of family life, and is not relevant to modern parenting or society (at paragraphs 68 to 70 of the judgment). We particularly note and welcome paragraphs 78 and 79 of the judgment. Since starting this campaign, we have held that the court's rigid application of the guidance within Payne v Payne has gone counter to the paramountcy principle within the Children Act.The test applied by judges when considering matters which impact on child welfare was warped. The assumptions and weighting given to the distress argument were and are unscientific and unsubstantiated, yet until this recent judgment, have remained fiercely defended by Lord Justice Thorpe. We would further like the courts to properly consider the child's Convention Rights to contact and family life, and its repeated failures to put in place adequate safeguards to protect a child's relationships.
We note that the child in Payne v Payne went on to lose all contact with their father. The guiding case was a failure. It's continued application as binding precedent has been a scandal.
Michael Robinson
