At the last moment, a Court of Appeal judge has given Indi’s family permission to appeal where life-support can be removed, and, it is understood, could also consider the Italian intervention in the case.
Indi’s life-support was due to be removed at the Queen’s Medical Centre in Nottingham at 2pm today, but after an appeal was lodged by the family’s lawyers, the deadline was extended to 4pm by Lady Justice Eleanor King.
Now it has been confirmed that the family’s appeal will be heard remotely tomorrow (Nov 10) at 12pm by the Court of Appeal. Interested media should email rcj.familyhighcourt@justice.gov.uk citing case reference FD23P00452 for access to the hearing.
Life-support will therefore not be removed until the hearing is over or further instructions are given by the Court.
The permission to appeal comes after yesterday, Mr Justice Robert Peel, ruled that Indi’s parents could not take her home and that life support should be removed at a hospice or at the hospital.
Earlier today with the clock ticking, Indi’s Italian guardian made an urgent application to the UK High Court calling on Mr Justice Robert Peel to cede jurisdiction of the case to him under Article 9§2 of the 1996 Hague Convention.
Such a development has never happened before in an end-of-life case involving a child in the UK.
The Italian consul in Manchester, Dr Matteo Corradini, in his capacity as guardianship judge for the 8-month-old, made the application under the Article 9§2 of the 1996 Hague Convention. Convention Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.
Yesterday (Nov 8) the guardian issued an emergency measure recognising the authority of the Italian courts in this case.
It is unclear how, or even if, the Court of Appeal will deal with this development at the hearing tomorrow as this is new territory in such a case.
The Bambino Gesù Paediatric Hospital in Rome has agreed to accept Indi for treatment and to carry out the right ventricular outflow tract stent procedure that has been put forward by medical experts. The Italian government has offered to fund the treatment at no cost to the NHS or UK taxpayer.
NHS bosses and UK courts, however, have refused to allow the move or work on a risk-assessment with a specialist Air-Ambulance service. Instead, the UK courts have repeatedly rubber stamped the NHS position on the case and ruled that it is in Indi’s ‘best interests’ to die.
On Monday (6 Nov) the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, granted Indi Italian citizenship and released a statement saying: “They say there isn’t much hope for little Indi, but until the end I will do what I can to defend her life. And to defend her mum and dad’s right to do everything they can for her.”
To date there has been no response or comment from the UK government on the case.
The family continue to be supported by the Christian Legal Centre.