A service manager at the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), John Mellor, has reported seeing an increase in the number of international child custody cases involving British couples abroad, reports the Guardian.

The cases often involve couples that have divorced after moving abroad with their children and one partner, usually the mother, wants to take the children back to the UK.

According to the Guardian, the resulting international relocation case will not be resolved by the British courts, but by the court of the country the couple are living in, and this can often be bad news for the mother.

Mr Mellor explains that unlike in the UK, where international child relocation cases are usually heard by a senior court, in foreign jurisdictions it is likely the case will be heard by a low level court, probably with little experience in hearing these types of cases. These courts may have default or prejudicial positions that go against the mother.