Bgpb v. Ksw

HCMP 1922/2020

[2023] HKCFI 1476

IN THE HIGH COURT OF THE

HONG KONG SPECIAL ADMINISTRATIVE REGION

COURT OF FIRST INSTANCE

MISCELLANEOUS PROCEEDINGS NO 1922 OF 2020

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J U D G M E N T

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A.  INTRODUCTION

1.This is the substantive hearing of 2 summonses taken out by the Plaintiff Father (i) on 16 February 2023 for defined shared care and control of AB of the family; and (ii) on 12 May 2023 for summer and Christmas holiday arrangements in 2023.

2.The background to this case can be found in this Court’s judgment dated 1 April 2021.

3.Briefly, the parties are the Father and Mother respectively of the subject child (“AB”), born in 2014 out of their cohabitation. The Father was brought up in France. He has been living in Hong Kong for 14 years and is a permanent resident here. He is currently working in a bank, with flexible working hours and can work from home. The Mother was brought up in Australia. She has been living in Hong Kong for over 10 years with a tourist visa. She is a homemaker.

4.The Father used to have a close bond with AB, being involved in every aspect of AB’s life and education. In March 2020, AB (then aged 6), went to Australia temporarily with the Mother, with the consent of the Father, due to COVID-19. However, AB was unilaterally kept by the Mother in Australia despite protest of the Father.

5.The Father took proceedings in Hong Kong. On 6 January 2021, this Court gave an interim order for joint custody and shared care and control of AB. The Mother was ordered to return AB to Hong Kong, but she did not comply.

6.On 30 March 2021, AB was made a ward of Court. This Court ordered, amongst others, that:

(1)  the Father shall, pursuant to section 3(1)(d) of the Guardianship of Minors Ordinance, Cap 13, be granted all the rights and authority that the law will allow him as a father;

(2)  joint custody, and shared care and control be granted to the parents; and

(3)  the Mother forthwith return AB to Hong Kong.

7.After taking custody proceedings in West Australia which failed and an appeal which also failed, the Mother eventually returned AB to Hong Kong in May 2022, after AB had been separated from his Father for over 2 years.

8.On 17 March 2023, this Court granted an interim order, giving defined access including staying access to the Father (“Interim Order”).

(1)  The Father has day access on Tuesday and Thursday from 3:10 pm to 7:30 pm. On Week 1, he has staying access from Saturday 10:30 am to Sunday 7:30 pm. On Week 2, he has day access on Saturday from 10:30 am to 10 pm.

(2)  The Father was also granted staying access for amongst others, the Easter holidays.

9.The parties have had difficulties in agreeing care and control. It is in the best interests of AB for there to be a detailed and final care order and that these proceedings be brought to an end.

10.The parties have agreed many terms. There are 5 outstanding issues tabulated below:

Table 1

	Issue	Father’s suggestion	Mother’s suggestion
1.	Term time access and when to start	On a bi-weekly cycle of 2-2-5-5	Stage 1: Start with a bi-weekly cycle giving the Father up to 3 days’ care after school Stage 2: 2-2-3 biweekly cycle to be agreed
2.	Single-day holiday issue – to be shared equally by each party taking turns	With staying access; the parent having staying access shall pick up AB from School on the preceding school day and send him to School on the school day following	No staying access
3.	Summer vacation for 2023 – each parent to have half	Agreed	Mother will take AB to France and hand over to the Father at XXX on XXXX at XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX in France
4.	Christmas holidays for 2023	To Father	To Mother
5.	Renewal of AB’s passport	To be renewed	To be renewed, adding the Mother’s name as surname of AB

11.The Social Investigation Report (“SIR”) prepared by Ms XXXXX Lau supports the Father’s proposals on term time access.

B.  INTERIM ARRANGEMENTS

B1.  Residence and care time

12.The Father has provided residence for the Mother and AB on their return to Hong Kong. The Father and the Mother live just a few minutes’ walk from each other in XXXXXXXX.

13.This Court found that the Mother had not given the Father the contact with AB she reasonably could and should have whilst in Australia: Judgment, §§34-35, 81-82.

14.Back in Hong Kong, the Mother continued to limit AB’s time with the Father so that he was only able to spend 2 evenings during the week with AB after school and one day during the weekends.

15.Between June and October 2022, the Mother had only allowed the Father 4 occasions of overnight access to AB. Those occasions went smoothly but the Mother was slow to allow more occasions, under the excuse that AB “could choose”.

16.Attempts on mediation over a defined timetable was not successful.

17.Since the Interim Order, the Father has been picking up AB from school. AB spent Easter holidays of 15 days with the Father and was properly cared for. The parties communicated and there had been 3 occasions during those holidays when AB went back to the Mother on the 4, 12 and 13 April.

B2.  Schooling

18.Since his return to Hong Kong, AB has been attending primary school at the XXXXXXXXXXXXXX School (“the School”) in the French stream since early July 2022. He does not meet the requirements necessary to change to the international (English) stream and is on waiting list.

19.Having left Hong Kong for over 2 years, AB understandably lags behind in French. His French teacher, Ms B, noted AB’s “significant difficulty engaging in class activities at the beginning in French class…In spite of having a group of friends in class, he looked pretty stressed and depressed sometimes in French class.” (§15, SIR)

20.On 26 October 2022, the school counselor advised the parents that AB was having “dark thoughts and guilty feelings” about the parental disagreements and suggested having a clear defined parenting/framework so that AB would have certainty and structure.

C.  THE PARTIES’ PROPOSALS

21.The proposals have been set out in Table 1 above. On term‑time care and control, the Father proposes a 2-2-5-5 approach to start now.

Table 2

Week 1	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
	F	F	M	M	F	F	F

Week 2	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
	F	F	M	M	M	M	M

22.The Mother claims that after several months seeing the treating counsellors, AB still has trouble adjusting. She does not dispute an eventual move to a 50:50 biweekly schedule. She, however, suggests a two-stage approach, the 1^st stage with 3 days’ care to the Father for 4 months and then move to a 2-2-3 schedule in stage 2 (subject to review and discussions with the mediator/counsellor).

Table 3

Stage 1
	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Wk 1	F	M	M	F/M	M	F	M
Wk 2	F	M	M	F/M	M	M	F
Wk 1	F	M	M	F/M	M	F	M
Wk 2	F	M	M	F/M	M	M	F

Table 4

Stage 1
	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
Wk 1	M	M	F	F	M	M	M
Wk 2	F	F	M	M	F	F	F
Wk 1	M	M	F	F	M	M	M
Wk 2	F	F	M	M	F	F	F

23.Schooling is a major issue in this case that affects term-time access. The Mother’s unilateral retention of AB in Australia for over 2 years had adverse impact on AB’s language ability in French. To help remedy this, the School has provided dedicated support with weekly small group sessions and follow up by teacher.

24.The Father wants AB to stay in the French stream to learn more about French, its culture and history. The Mother is concerned about the stress and anxiety that AB has been undergoing at the School, which is having a severely negative impact on him. She deposes that AB has begun complaining of tummy aches, headaches, and does not wish to go to school. He has also experienced panic attacks. She says that the Father has chosen to ignore her views. He has similarly disregarded the explicit warnings and recommendations of AB’s treating counsellors (detailed in Section E).

25.The Mother submits that the Father’s position does not appear to be in accordance with AB’s best interests. The Father maintains this position, prioritizing his values, when AB is evidently facing very real and serious difficulties causing anxiety and stress to the point of AB pulling his hair out. If AB is experiencing crippling difficulties, to the point of exacerbating issues regarding his connection and trust of the Father (indicated in the professionals’ views below), she suggests that the Father should consider alternative options and for the long term welfare of their relationship. She requests the Father to discuss with her other English schooling options for the 2024 academic year.

D.  AB’s VIEWS

26.The parents agree that I should not meet AB. They have concerns of extra conflict and stress on AB. They have had the full opportunity to present their evidence. I also have the benefit of professional views from a counsellor appointed by the School (“G”), one treating counsellor of AB (“O”), a child psychologist (“DP”) engaged by the Father, and the Social Welfare Officer (“Ms Lau”) who prepared the SIR. The 4 of them have independently presented AB’s views with their advice. I therefore decided not to interview AB.

E.  VIEWS OF THE PROFESSIONALS

27.The 4 professionals gave a consistent view on the stress and anxiety that AB has been going through at School for a period of months, after his return to Hong Kong. It was about his catching up on French and the impact on the father-son relationship. AB has started seeing G and O since about November 2022, after the school informed the parents of his “dark thoughts and guilty feelings”.

E1.  Counsellors’ views

28.G has been having weekly meetings with AB. In an email dated 24 February 2023 from G to the Father, G stated:

“I am meeting with AB every Monday. Honestly, I haven’t seen a lot of change in his mood. He still appears sad…He shares that he doesn’t like the school, does not like the teachers or his classmates. He pulled out his hair on Sunday night as he was so scared of going to school the next morning.

He says he has expressed his frustrations to you, [F], and I think he keeps hoping for a change. When I asked him what daddy said, [AB] said ‘he doesn’t listen to me’ (about his frustrations with the school). In one session he also said, ‘daddy says I am on waitlist’ for the international stream. He appears confused as if he is waiting for a change to happen and thinks this is temporary. I’d suggest being open with him about what the plan is for the foreseeable future and then giving him time and space to grieve for his losses. And evaluate how important is the French stream for you – knowing that he is struggling mentally and emotionally.”

29.Copied in the e-mail from G, O replied:

“Yes, I agree with all of what [G] has noted…I would very much support trying to transfer him to the international stream as this will likely improve his mood and his trust/connection with dad.”

30.The Father has consulted a child psychologist (“DP”), who takes the view that AB’s main challenge at school stems from his challenges with the French language, and that guiding AB towards fluency would be the best way to help him.

E2.  Ms Lau’s views

31.AB has directly asked Ms Lau to be moved to the English stream as he found learning English easier and had more fun (§27, SIR).

32.Ms Lau confirms the positive and affectionate relationship between AB and the Father and Mother, respectively. She finds that:

(a) “Both parents have worked hard and tried their best to co-operate and handover the son’s access smoothly and flexibly during the past years. Their great efforts demonstrated their strong commitment and enthusiasm to safeguard the best interest of AB, assume their parental role and provide a stable and supportive environment for AB.” (§30, SIR)

(b) “In general, both parents were satisfied with the current access arrangement and they managed to communicate with each other effectively.” (§18, SIR)

33.Ms Lau also stated:

“27. [AB], aged 8, was a pleasant, expressive and sentimental boy. He understood that his parents had been separated and would not live together again. He said he enjoyed his time with the mother and felt more relaxed and comfortable with her…On the contrary, he felt nervous and a bit boring with the father. He knew his father loved him, but he also felt scary to [“scared of”] the father sometimes as he had the unpleasant encounter with the father in Japan when he was 4-year-old. He did not wish spending too much time with the father at present and hoped to rebuild their relationship gradually…”

“31. …both parents should be prepared for flexible adjustment of the care arrangement, geared to the changing needs of AB in different developmental stages so as to soothe his stress and anxiety.” (§31, SIR)

34.Ms Lau has not elaborated on what “the unpleasant encounter” was, but the Mother points out that the relevant event in Japan occurred when AB was 6 years old. That AB still has fears surrounding this event is a point of concern not fully (or properly) explored by Ms Lau in the SIR. Shortly after that event, AB was brought to Australia and separated from the Father.

35.The Court is grateful for the School and the professionals’ independent views and advice although, without disrespect, they are not binding on the Court. The Court looks at all the circumstances holistically to consider what orders to make in the best interests of AB.

F.  ISSUE 1 - TERM TIME ACCESS AND WHEN TO START

36.This issue is closely tied to the emotional struggle that AB has in tackling his French. Apparently, he requires ongoing support from independent professionals to continue to express and process negative emotions he is experiencing. He also requires academic support if he remains in the French stream.

37.The Father has all along been the only parent supervising AB with his homework. Knowing AB’s struggle and with the advice of DP in mind, the Father has made changes. He has been encouraging AB to read French books he likes, supervises his homework with a focus on reading and reading him books in French during dinner and before sleeping. The Father faced limitation in that he had irregular access. Even under the Interim Order, he only has 2 weekdays, each for 4 hours; and staying access on alternate weekends to help AB. Nevertheless, he managed to maneuver his work schedule to match the days of care so that he could maximize the results. He has been very dedicated and hands on.

38.On 2 December 2022, at a meeting attended by teachers and counsellors, the School informed the parents that AB had made great progress and the “alarming state identified in his counselling session on 26 October 2022 was behind him” although he was still behind in French classes.

39.Unfortunately, the mother has not been supportive of AB’s efforts to improve his fluency in French. She wrote to the school on 8 February 2023 to “the vehemently object” to AB receiving extra language support.

40.That was not in line with the School’s attitude, as shown in the School’s email to her dated 9 February 2023:

“[AB] will benefit from the [School] teacher’s support in class, in order to help him better understand French during class time… The objective here is to offer him adapted teaching so that he can consolidate his language skills, which he needs in mathematics, writing, or any other discipline…

As long as AB is not supported in his schooling by his two parents, he will not feel well… It is essential that all members of the family adhere to the schooling project, whatever it may be.”

41.There then followed the emails of G and O in February 2023.

42.Since the Interim Order was made on 17 March 2023, the Father has noticed further improvement as a result of his being able to spend significantly more time with AB during Easter. The Mother has not raised issue with that access.

43.Ms Lau also reports that AB is now doing much better at school although he still has stress.

“[AB] though had significant difficulty engaging in class activities at the beginning in French class, under his efforts, he made amazing progress and was getting comfortable in French currently. In spite of having a group of friends in class, he looked pretty stressed and depressed sometimes in French class. Comparatively, [AB’s] father was more involved and concerned about [AB’s] school activities and homework. He supported [AB] and helped him to make improvement at school. [AB’s] English and French teachers commented that [AB] is perfectly able to thrive in both languages and follow the French curriculum as long as he received his parents’ supports.” (emphasis added)

44.Ms Booth, counsel for the Mother, points out that Father-3^rd [1] was filed on 16 February 2023, §11 of which mentioned the meeting with the School on 2 December 2022. Despite the alleged improvement, G and O attending AB for 4 months still sent out their emails to the Father, expressing the views that AB’s condition had not improved. The SIR that was prepared afterwards stated that AB was still stressed and depressed. Ms Lau has not spoken to the counsellors to follow up on AB’s condition. Further, Ms Lau thought that the Mother had no objection to the Father’s proposals on defined shared care arrangement but that was on a wrong basis. The Mother has expressed a wish for a gradual, child focused approach instead, that takes into account AB’s views, as well as his mental and emotional state, before transitioning between Stages, and that he be given time to adjust to any changes in his care arrangements. She invites the Court not to accept Ms Lau’s recommendation but adopt the Mother’s two‑stage approach, which would be consistent with Ms Lau’s views that the parties should maintain a flexible approach to adjustments in AB’s care.

45.Ms Booth submits that the Mother’s proposals in Tables 3 and 4 represent an increase from the current access that the Father has. This would facilitate AB’s adjustment to extended periods in the Father’s care during term-time, respecting the Father’s wish to be increasingly involved during the week. Both parties would have frequent and regular access with AB, including weekend access. There is also consistency in this schedule because save for alternating weekends, Mother and Father have the same weekdays, which would be of benefit to AB establishing a routine between the two homes.

46.The benefits of the Mother’s Stage 2 proposals are that: (i) AB has regular, frequent access with both parents (ensuring that his possible anxiety arising from separation is reduced); (ii) both parents equally share both term time and weekend access throughout the month; (iii) both parents have uninterrupted longer weekend time with AB to plan activities, and this allows AB to “settle in” for the weekend; and (iv) drop-offs and pick-ups to take place at AB’s school bus stop, reducing logistical difficulties.

47.Therefore, the Mother proposes Stage 1 to be in place during term time (excluding long holidays, eg summer holiday); for no less than 4 months. This would approximately be up to November 2023. Depending on AB’s adjustment and feedback by G and O, Stage 2 would be implemented, which would have the effect of a 50:50 split of care time. If AB’s counsellors express reservations as to his adjustment to the changing childcare arrangements, the parties should take this feedback on board and adopt a flexible approach, postponing the implementation of Stage 2 or agreeing to a different arrangement by consent or after mediation.

48.In considering what orders to make, the Court bears in mind the best interests of AB and takes into account the child’s views and the SIR pursuant to section 3(1)(a) of the Guardianship of Minors Ordinance, Cap 13. The Court will normally have regard to the “welfare checklist”: H v N [2012] 5 HKLRD 498, at §27, Poon J (as CJHC then was). I have considered the items in the welfare checklist individually and holistically.

49.AB has a French origin and has good relationship with his Father’s extended family in France. AB has been studying French and conversing with his Father in French before he went to Australia. He did not have problem them. Twice a year he goes to Europe to meet his Father’s extended family. It is beneficial to connect him to the French culture and history.

50.Tackling difficulties is part of life’s lessons and valuable education. The School has, right from the start, alerted the parents to the problem and provided extra help to AB both in terms of counselling and teaching. The School has encouraged the parents to adopt a united front in helping AB.

51.With a job to take care of and litigation to handle, the Father has not faltered in his efforts to help AB. He has responded to the problem by enhancing French education at home. He has maneuvered his work schedule to suit the care time of AB. I pause to note AB’s view that it was boring to stay with the Father. However, it was understandable in the light of the situation that the Father only has Tuesdays and Thursdays with him for 4 hours only. If time was spent on his homework (half to one hour per day), naturally fun time would be reduced. And yet with the limited care time and with the Father as the only parent to help on French, AB has improved to a point noticeable by the School. One can anticipate that given more time, the Father may bring about further improvement to AB.

52.It was not as if the Father was standing in the way of AB’s transfer to the English stream. As the Father explained, when AB returned to Hong Kong in May 2022, he had agreed for AB to be schooled in the international English stream. However, there was no immediate vacancy. So AB entered the French stream but is on the waiting list for the English one. As late as March 2023, the School informed the Father that AB did not meet the requirements for the assessment to enter the English stream.

53.Education has long lasting effect on a child which he may not see at the age of 9. Whilst AB’s voice has to be heard, I do not think it should be determinative of his education especially since his view on French is limited to about 10 months’ school experience in Hong Kong up to the time of the SIR.

54.Ms Booth submits that the stress that AB has undergone has not improved in the months between June 2022 and February 2023 as revealed by several professionals. However, the chronology of events shows one interesting feature. The emails from G and O were not known to this Court before the Interim Order was made.

55.The Interim Order had the effect of giving more care time to the Father and more stability. AB had spent Easter with the Father for almost 2 consecutive weeks and, as confirmed by Ms Lau, no issue arose out of that. With a schedule in place and flexibility in the parties, the Father let AB spend 3 days with the Mother. The Easter holidays demonstrated that father and son could cope well with living together for much over 5 days. Great weight should be attached to this experience.

56.The Mother’s proposals in my view, mean deferring the determination of the schedule. Whilst it is important not to add stress to AB and there should be enough time for transition, there has already been a lot of time for transition. The shared care and control order was first granted 2 years ago on 30 March 2021 but not complied with. There has been a year since AB’s return to Hong Kong to increase care time to the Father. The Mother kept denying the Father care time so much so that the Court had to intervene by the Interim Order. Stage 2 of the proposals still adopts a wait and see attitude. But the Easter experience demonstrates that action is better than discussion in this case. The Father and son have been made to wait too long.

57.In my view, increasing care time for the Father and having a stable care schedule is in the best interests of AB; the sooner, the better. It would be easier for the Father to balance the homework time and fun time and plan activities for AB. I agree with Mr Marwah, the Father’s counsel, that the Father’s proposals are more in the interests of AB and really achieve a situation of shared care and control in that they:

(1)  Give AB stability; care during the weekdays remain constant and only the weekends would alternate with each parent; this makes it easier to join extra-curricular activities;

(2)  Help AB to re-build his close bond with the Father;

(3)  Plainly meet AB’s educational needs on French and support on homework from the Father;

(4)  Reduce the number of handovers of AB from one parent to another and hence reduce AB’s exposure to parental conflict;

(5)  Preserve and deepen AB’s ties with his Father’s extended family in France with no prejudice to AB’s ties on his extended family in Australia.

58.I accept the Father’s proposals.

59.When should the new timetable start? There is still one month to go before the summer holidays start on 1 July 2023. The new school term will start on 31August. AB will practically be out of Hong Kong during the vacation. The Mother’s two stage approach is not practical and will subject AB yet to changes to schedules that are more than necessary.

60.Adopting the Father’s proposal will give him more time to work with AB on his French immediately and give him more staying access before AB leaves him in July for the summer vacation. The one-month break will give AB some “rest” over any stress of homework. He will pick up French with his Father and his extended family in August before the new school term starts. It will achieve the Mother’s two-stage notion in substance but will enable AB to know in advance of the new school term what changes in care timetable he has to meet.

61.I therefore order that the Father’s proposals should take effect immediately, subject to Ms Lau first explaining the order to AB in person. I trust that as an independent person who well appreciates the efforts of the parents on AB, Ms Lau will be able to explain the order neutrally to AB, answer whatever questions he has and avoid imposing stress on AB. My clerk shall send a copy of this Judgment to her.

G.  ISSUE 2 – SINGLE-DAY HOLIDAY ISSUE

62.Staying access gives an evening and a full day for a parent to spend with AB. In line with the term-time care, it reduces conflict between parents and stress to AB when handover is at School. I accept the Father’s proposal.

H.  ISSUE 3 – 2023 SUMMER VACATION ISSUE

63.The parties have agreed in principle that for each summer vacation the Mother will have the first half and the Father will have the second-half every year.

64.At this hearing, the Mother proposed that she would go with AB to France instead of to Australia for the summer of 2023.

65.The parties have agreed that the Mother would take AB to France and hand him over to the Father on XXXXXXXX at XXXXXXX at XXXXXXXXX in XXXXX, France. The Father will come back to Hong Kong with AB. I am satisfied that this arrangement is for the best interest of AB and I make an order accordingly.

I.  ISSUE 4 – 2023 CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY ISSUE

66.For Christmas holidays, the parties have agreed in principle that the Mother would have access to AB for the even years whereas the Father would have the odd years. The question is whether or not the Father will have the Christmas holidays for 2023.

67.The Mother points out that the Father already had the 2022 summer and Christmas holidays with AB in France.

68.The fact was that those 2 holidays were by consent. They were holidays after AB first returned to Hong Kong from Australia in May 2022 and before the Interim Order. The Father invited the Mother to join in the holiday in France. For Christmas, the mother travelled with AB to France with the Father. It was shared care except for 29 and 30 December 2022.

69.As for the summer vacation, what happened was that from 26 July to 9 August 2022, AB was either with the Mother only or with the father’s parents when the Father left for work in Hong Kong. To the credit of the Mother, she has consistently supported AB’s relationship with the paternal grandparents. Practically, it was a case of shared care in that vacation.

70.Those 2 vacations must be seen in the light of AB’s 2-year separation from the Father. The Mother’s presence would have eased any stress of AB in missing his Mother suddenly whilst on vacation.

71.The present Christmas holiday is not to “make up” the Father’s loss of vacation time with AB but what should be in the best interests of AB. In my view, the Father should have his own time with AB and their extended family. In addition, it is in the interests of AB that he is exposed more to French in a fun environment with the Father. The Father should thus have the care time with AB for the 2023 Christmas vacation.

J.  ISSUE 5 – PASSPORT ISSUE

72.AB’s French passport is due to expire in June 2024. The Father wants it renewed. There is some urgency because there needs to be 6 months’ validity for AB to travel to France this summer.

73.The Mother agrees that AB’s French passport ought to be renewed but it should be subject to amending the surname of AB to include the Mother’s surname (“surname issue”). This in fact has been the subject matter of mediation between the parties.

74.The Father does not object in principle to the suggested change of name of AB. However, he points out that there can be implications to the change. For Hong Kong, it may just be the use of a deed poll to effect the change. However, AB has 2 other passports that have expired – Australia and Switzerland. The father needs more time to research on the impact of a change of name.

75.I do not consider the Father to be obstructive. I agree with him that the French passport shall be renewed immediately. The surname issue shall be dealt with at a later date by agreement, failing which by the Court’s adjudication.

K.  CONCLUSION AND COSTS

76.For the reasons given and the consent of the parties over the undisputed items, I order as follows:

(1)  The term time access shall follow the Father’s 2-2-5-5 proposal to start immediately, subject to Ms Lau explaining the terms of the order to AB;

(2)  Single-day holidays shall be shared equally by each party taking turns with staying access from the time after school before that holiday;

(3)  The Mother shall take AB to France for summer vacation and hand over AB to the Father at XXXXXXX on XXXXXX at XXXXXXXXXXX in France;

(4)  The Father shall have care of AB for the Christmas holidays for 2023; and

(5)  The French passport of AB shall be renewed immediately.

77.The parties have agreed for AB to be dewarded and that the restraint on the Mother to take AB out of the jurisdiction of Hong Kong be discharged. They have also agreed on other holidays and terms on implementation of the order. I approve of those terms.

78.I make an order in terms of the draft order attached to the letter of Withers dated 25 May 2023 as amended by me.

79.On costs, the Father only asks for costs of the Holiday Summons. I am of the view that the Mother has contested that Summons reasonably. On a nisi basis, I make no order as to costs, save that there be legal aid taxation of the Mother’s own costs.

80.I thank counsel for their assistance.

Mr Shaphan Marwah, instructed by Withers, for the Plaintiff

Ms Madeleine Booth, instructed by Swainston Solicitors, assigned by the Director of Legal Aid, for the Defendant