Family

The following principles applied with respect to Art 15 of Council Regulation 2201/2003: (i) the burden was upon the person applying to establish that a stay of the proceedings was appropriate; (ii) the applicant had to show, not only that England was not the natural or appropriate forum, but also that the other jurisdiction was clearly the more appropriate forum; (iii) in assessing the appropriateness of each forum, the court had to discern the forum with which the case had the more real and substantial connection in terms of convenience, expense and the availability of witnesses; (iv) if the court were to conclude that the other forum would be clearly more appropriate, it should grant a stay unless other more potent factors were to drive the opposite result; and (v) in the exercise to be conducted at (iv), the welfare of the child was an important, but not a paramount, consideration. The scope of the best interests enquiry did not involve