In the Matter of E: further thoughts

In my last post I analysed the President's decision in The Matter of E (A Child) [2014] EWHC 6 (Fam) in which the Sir James Munby considered the obligations imposed by the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. One of these is that where a national is detained his consulate must be informed. Another is that where a guardian is appointed for a child the consulate must be informed. That would seem to mean that if (a) the tipstaff executes an order and takes a person into custody, (b) the court joins a foreign national child as a party that steps should be taken to inform the relevant consulate.