There are no court actions more emotive than those involving children. While most parents have the children’s best interests at heart, each parent’s view of what these are can be drastically different.

In terms of the European Convention on Human Rights, a child has a right to a family life. However, while many parents readily agree about who a child should see and when, in some unfortunate cases a parent may be caught up in the antagonism that a disputed separation can bring, and seek to use the children as a negotiation tool.