When the breakdown of a relationship crosses international borders, it increases the legal complexity and arguments at an already stressful time.

Take for example the recent newspaper headlines of a US woman, who is currently appealing for custody of her 4-year old daughter after a Saudi court ruled she was unfit to be a mother due to her being “too Western”.

Courts will consider the welfare of a child as paramount, in the determination parental disputes over child arrangements. It is clear to see in this instance how different courts apply different cultural, legal and jurisdictional rules, which create significant...