Litigation: Court heard 'voice of the child', says judge

A South African-born child to start school in Croatia after her father won a legal battle against his estranged wife, notes a report in The Mercury. The father was allowed to take his 13-year-old daughter with him to Croatia where he is assisting Ukrainian refugees. The child’s mother was ordered by Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg) Judge Shanaaz Mia to sign all the necessary documents to allow the child to live with her father abroad. If the mother refused to sign the documents, the sheriff of the court was entitled to do so on her behalf, the order read. Mia made it clear that the interests of a child would always prevail in these matters. And in this case the child made it clear she wanted to go to Croatia with her father, with whom she had a better relationship. The judge said the court heard ‘the voice of the child’, as the daughter was old enough to express her wishes. While the father may take the child with him, he must ensure that the mother has daily contact with the child. The mother was ordered to pay costs.