Press Release

Indi: Italian guardian makes urgent application to UK High Court under Hague Convention in bid to prevent life-support removal

With the clock ticking, Indi Gregory’s Italian guardian has 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.

This morning, 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.

These orders have immediate effectiveness due to the imminent danger to the life of Indi, with doctors prepared to remove her life-support today at 2pm, subject to an appeal over the location of the withdrawal. Dr Corradini will now await a response from Mr Justice Peel.

Mr Justice Peel has made the two previous High Court judgments which blocked Indi’s transfer to Italy for specialist treatment and ruled that it is in her ‘best interests’ to die.

Yesterday (Nov 8) the guardian issued an emergency measure recognising the authority of the Italian courts in this case.

The 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.

Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, the family’s lawyers have this morning submitted an appeal to Mr Justice Peel’s ruling that Indi’s parents cannot take her home for life-support to be removed.

Lawyers are now waiting to hear if the Court of Appeal will hear the case and if, therefore, the stay on life-support will be extended beyond 2pm.