Sherma Polidore
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Sherma is recognised as an expert in cases involving child care law, notably international child abduction cases and care proceedings (including cases of Fabricated Induced Illnesses (FII), Non-Accidental Injuries (NAI) and sexual abuse).
She has developed a particular specialism in cases involving children that include issues relating to race and religion and LGBTQ+ families.
Notably Sherma was published in the Law Gazette on “Family Courts can deter people threatened with being outed” (April 2018) and has given a series of webinars in conjunction with 42 Bedford Row on ‘Parental Alienation and the interface with Public Law proceedings’.
Relevant experiences and positions
Sherma is recognised as an expert in cases involving child care law, notably international child abduction cases and care proceedings (including cases of Fabricated Induced Illnesses (FII), Non-Accidental Injuries (NAI) and sexual abuse).
Sherma represented a grandfather who was a Respondent in two sets of Wardships proceedings brought by two different relative relating to the removal and retention of his grandchildren in Pakistan.
Sherma successfully obtained the grandfather’s passport and travel documents that were seized as part of Court proceedings and had the grandfather, as per his wishes, discharged from both sets of Court proceedings with no findings of abuse being made against the grandfather.
Some personal questions
What is your advice to parents who are thinking about relocating with a child?
Genuinely think about the interests of the child when thinking to relocate. This means the impact on the child regarding the loss of a (regular direct) relationship with their other parent, potential loss of a relationship with wider family, potential loss of a relationship with friends, etc.
Why is it interesting for you as a lawyer to work on these cases?
I have a very big interest in culture, heritage, and legal systems from other jurisdictions. I am fascinated by how other jurisdictions deal with legal issues. To be able to work in an area of law that factors these things in makes abduction work really interesting to me.
Which child abduction case will you never forget?
I represented a Father from a European country whose child had been unlawfully removed to England. There were Orders from the home country that allowed the Father to spend time with his child on a regular basis and included child maintenance provisions. The application in the home country was made by the Mother. In the Hague proceedings the Mother submitted that the child was not biologically the Father’s and therefore he did not have rights of custody and sought a DNA test. The Court, at first instance, granted the Mother’s application. On behalf of the Father, I made an application to the Court of Appeal to discharge the Order for DNA testing on the basis that the issue of the child’s true parentage is an issue for the home country and not England. This was backed up by the fact that the Father jointly registered the child’s birth with the Mother and the Mother made an application for maintenance and contact based on the Father being the child’s biological parent. If the Mother is asserting that the Father is not the biological parent, this would need to be dealt with by the home country. This appeal was successful.
This case sticks out to me as:
1. It is reminder of the jurisdictional issues that abduction Lawyers need to be careful of
2. The welfare impact upon the child and the Father had the DNA test proved the child was not his
What is your advice to parents dealing with international child abduction?
My initial advice to parents is always: look after yourself. Court proceedings are hard in terms of the time, money, emotional drain, etc on people. I believe it is therefore really important for parents to obtain support, such as using a charitable service like Reunite or accessing therapeutic support, or seeing their local doctor. My role is to provide legal advice and so it is helpful for parents to access support for other areas to try and ensure that they are as well as can be and being supported.
Do you advice parents to file criminal charges in case of child abduction?
I do not advise parents to file criminal charges on the basis that:
1. The child will (likely) still need both parents involved in their lives and having a parent in prison is not conducive to co-parenting which needs to take place once proceedings have concluded
2. The idea of criminal charges can sometimes be used as leverage to seek the child’s return
I say this with the caveat that I can understand why a parent would want to pursue criminal charges and there are some cases (like multiple attempts to abduct) where it is avoidable.
