Child ordered to return to EU member state despite grave risk defense

The Court of Appeal has upheld a High Court decision ordering the return of a child, referred to as "N," to an EU member state, identified as "country A," from which the child was removed. The High Court had found that the appellant's allegations against the respondent cumulatively amounted to a grave risk to the child under the Hague Convention. However, the court determined that the defense of grave risk was not made out due to effective protective measures in place in country A. The High Court's findings on the facts were not appealed, and the focus was on whether the protective measures were sufficient to mitigate future risks. The Court of Appeal also considered the child's objections to returning to country A but concluded that the objections were significantly influenced by the appellant and therefore did not prevent the court from ordering the child's return.