N. (C.) v. K.-D. (P.)

MS. JUSTICE FINLAY GEOGHEGAN: This is an application by the father of the child named in the title to the proceedings under the Hague Convention and the 1991 Act implementing that convention in this jurisdiction, for an order for the return of the minor to the jurisdiction of his alleged habitual residence, namely, the jurisdiction of the courts of the State of Illinois in the United States of America.

The basis of the application is an alleged wrongful removal of the minor by the respondent, who is the mother of the minor, from the State of Arizona in August 2002 to this country. The applicant and the respondent were never married.

I should say at the outset that this is a highly unusual and sad case. The minor named in the title is unfortunately in the final stages of a terminal illness from a brain tumour for which he has been suffering for a number of years, but it would appear that in the summer of 2004 he was found to have a growing and destructive intercranial tumour and that his condition has deteriorated quite significantly even in the last two months.

an order for return under Article 12? That issue arises in the context of an admission that these proceedings were commenced in excess of one year after the alleged wrongful removal.

The issues surrounding the alleged rights of custody, in particular, raise a number of complex legal issues, and I suggested at the outset that counsel should address by reason of the highly unusual circumstances of this case and the medical evidence which has been presented on the affidavits, the issues arising under Article 13(b).