UK Court Overturns Ruling in Ghana Relocation Case

The UK Court of Appeal has reversed a controversial High Court decision that denied a 14-year-old British-Ghanaian boy, identified only as S, his plea to return to the UK after his parents allegedly tricked him into relocating to Ghana.

S was taken to Ghana in March 2024 under the impression of a family visit. However, his parents returned to the UK without him, enrolled him in a boarding school in Ghana, and withheld his passport. Feeling abandoned and emotionally distressed, the boy contacted London solicitors and pursued legal action through a litigation friend.

Court Acknowledges Child’s Emotional Harm and Autonomy

Although a lower court initially ruled that the parents’ actions were within the bounds of lawful parental responsibility—citing S’s alleged gang involvement and risky behaviour—the appellate court strongly disagreed.

In the July 29 decision, Sir Andrew McFarlane, President of the Family Division, stated that the High Court had failed to give proper consideration to S’s emotional well-being and pleas to return. He emphasized that the child’s distress was central to the case and criticised the trial judge for focusing too heavily on the parents’ perspective.

The appeal, led by Deirdre Fottrell KC and supported by the International Centre for Family Law and the Association of Lawyers for Children, argued that the child’s autonomy and alternative care options in the UK had been ignored.

Wardship has now been restored, and the case will be reheard by a different judge to reassess the boy’s welfare in light of the appeal findings.

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