The Volokh Conspiracy
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Now There's a Real Royal Family Dispute for You
English courts rule in child custody case against the Sheikh of Dubai, and in favor of his sixth wife Princess Haya, who is also the sister of the King of Jordan.
A quick summary from the AP (Jill Lawless & Danica Kirka):
The ruler of Dubai conducted a campaign of fear and intimidation against his estranged wife and ordered the abduction of two of his daughters, a British judge ruled in documents that were unsealed [last week].
A judge at the High Court in London found that Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, 70, "acted in a manner from the end of 2018 which has been aimed at intimidating and frightening" his ex-wife Princess Haya, 45.
Judge Andrew McFarlane also said the Sheikh "ordered and orchestrated" the abductions and forced return to Dubai of two of his adult daughters from another marriage: Sheikha Shamsa in August 2000, and Sheikha Latifa in 2002 and again in 2018.
The judge made rulings in December and January after a battle between the estranged spouses over the welfare of their two children, but the Sheikh fought to prevent them from being made public. The U.K Supreme Court quashed that attempt ….
Some court documents, which gives much more detail:
- The December Family Division judgment: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2019/3415.pdf
- The January Family Division judgment: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2020/67.pdf
- The Family Division judgment ordering publication: http://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/Fam/2020/122.pdf
- The Court of Appeals judgment upholding publication: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2020/283.pdf
- The Supreme Court announcement refusing to hear the appeal of the Court Appeals judgmentt: https://www.supremecourt.uk/news/permission-to-appeal-decision-in-the-matter-of-al-m-children.html
