“Why the Debtor has not condescended to provide his own witness statement to verify the points which have been made on his behalf, particularly on residence and assets is incomprehensible.”
“The Debtor has had a right to stay in the family home by his mother in the relevant period. There is no evidence from his mother to the contrary. The fact he did not exercise that right is not sufficient to disengage the test and the mother has offered no evidence that this right was at any time in the relevant period withdrawn.”
“The essential question in this appeal is whether the Judge applied the right test and criteria in upholding permission to serve out of the jurisdiction on this ground.”
“a period which is not de minimis is sufficient”. (v) Another negative factor found is that: “In the Relevant Period, 24 York House was certainly not the Debtor’s settled or usual place of abode or home”. (vi) “There is the matter of Council Tax. The Debtor was registered for Council Tax on 24 York House while a student and he continued to be so registered until December 2019. As Mr Wardell had to accept, a person does not undertake the liability to pay Council Tax on a property with which they have no connection. In general, they do so because they are either the owner or the occupier of the property, or at least have the right of occupation. The Debtor was never the owner of 24 York House. The explanation for the Council Tax position is very unsatisfactory. There is no evidence at all from the Debtor. I consider that this is a significant factor pointing to this address being a place of residence of the Debtor.”
“There is an inconsistency between the evidence of the Debtor in his 2021 statement and that of Mr Hanjra in his 2022 statements as to who registered the Debtor for Council Tax purposes.”
“…the continued registration of the Debtor at York House for Council Tax purposes until December 2019 in my judgment remains a significant factor which points to York House being a place of residence of the Debtor.”
“when Prince Hussam first came to study…we had considerable difficulties in opening any bank accounts for him or arranging a personal ‘cell phone’. In particular, the banks and the phone company required evidence that Prince Hussam had an address within the jurisdiction.”
“I should also explain that I was the person who decided to register York House council tax in the name of Prince Hussam rather than Princess Noorah. This made sense to me because Prince Hussam was staying in London for over six months a year at this point (as compared with the few weeks that Princess Noorah would be staying there).”
“It's never been my intention – [I never] knew that I pay council tax until 2019, before I don't remember. Secondly, it was not my decision, it was Mr Hanjra decision to have to do this, and of course it's under my name at the end of the day, but it's not a decision which is took by me actually.”
“there was an occasion in 2011 when I refused him permission to stay at York House, as I was preparing the flat for refurbishment work. I would have also refused him permission to stay if it coincided with my own presence at York House… do not believe he ever had a licence to reside but merely permission to stay there while studying.”
“All this meant was that I allowed 24 York House to be used as security for loans which the Defendant took out. The loans were for the Defendant's purposes (which included funding medical expenses for Princess Sarah's mother, who was suffering from cancer, in France and America and all of the attendant costs of travelling with her) although I was also shown as a borrower.”
“When I returned to Saudi after finishing my studies, I was eager to start building my future, establishing my business, and generating my own income to become independent and be able to support my growing family on my own. I started working at the Ministry of Defence at that time as advisor at the minister’s office and was assigned to the Tawazun Economic Program. I also became close to my uncle HRH Prince Sultan Bin Abdulaziz, the Minister of Defence at that time (God bless his soul) and was in his inner circle.”
“mostly in Saudi, but a few abroad. Some of these businesses operated at a loss and were closed and some that were created never became active. Other businesses I sold and used the proceeds to spend on my responsibilities as a husband, a father, and a member of the Royal family. As a member of the Royal Family, I am expected to open my house to people and offer them all kinds of hospitality, listen to their problems, and needs and help them in any way possible, which includes financial aid.”
“We went to China, Japan, India, Peru, Mexico, South Africa, Canada, America, Thailand, Malaysia, Cost Arica, Tanzania, Kenya, Maldives, Indonesia, Columbia, Philippine, Turkey, Seychelles, most of the Caribbean and the Cote d’Azur and many other places… We skied the Alps, paraglided, hiked mountains, rafted in rivers, slept in jungles and in an Ice Hotel. Cities were not our favourite place to spend vacations, especially cities we already knew and had explored… After my children got married, most of the time we travelled together including the spouses and the grandchildren and in most of the trips we stayed at the same hotel or resort. Although our relatives and extended family had properties in many places around the world, and although we have been invited to stay at their properties, we most of the times politely declined their invitations because my wife and I always preferred staying at hotels and resorts for the facilities, like 24 hours service, Pool, Gym, Spa, Business centre, Meeting Rooms, coffee shops and restaurants and most important a Lobby which allowed me to receive my male friends and guests, conduct my business meetings away from my wife and family in a similar concept to the Men’s quarter in our house in Saudi, which is always located in a separate part of the house away from the family area.”
“20. These purchases were largely funded by Princess Noorah, save for a mortgage on 54 Adam & Eve Mews, which was taken out by Princess Sarah with the assistance of Princess Noorah. 21. Princess Noorah explained the thinking behind these purchases at paragraph 6 of her witness statement dated18 January 2021 as follows: “As the family expanded (I have five grandchildren and five great-grandchildren), it became increasingly difficult to accommodate them in York House when they came to London. So, I decided that additional properties need to be acquired for their use. In December 2016 and February 2017, three other properties.. [the New London Properties] .. were purchased in London, such purchases largely funded by me.” 22. The New London Properties have been the subject of a number of trust structures. At paragraph 15 of the 2019 Statement, Princess Noorah openly acknowledged that beneficial ownership of the New London Properties had been carefully arranged to ensure that Prince Hussam had no interest that could be attached, saying: “I was, as I say, of course, aware of the arbitration and the award made. Having been involved in matters of business for many decades, I was quite well aware of the potential ramifications of giving [the Debtor] a beneficial interest in any of the London Properties…” 23.1 Phillimore Terrace and 56 Adam & Eve Mews were purchased in December 2016 in the names of Princess Sarah and three of her children. At the time of purchase, the legal owners entered into a declaration of trust, declaring these properties to be held on trust for Princess Sarah and all five of her children. 54 Adam & Eve Mews was purchased in February 2017 in Princess Sarah’s sole name. 24.On2 August 2017 , Princess Sarah and each of her children made declarations that they held their respective interests in the New London Properties as nominees and bare trustees for Princess Noorah, who in turn made similar declarations that she held them as nominee and bare trustee for two Jersey trusts. The Jersey trusts provided for a lifetime interest for Princess Noorah alone and thereafter discretionary trusts for family members, with side instructions from Princess Noorah that under no circumstances should the Debtor (one of the discretionary objects) benefit. That Jersey trust structure was later unwound. In late 2019/early 2020, the private client department of Withers, the solicitors acting for Princesses Noorah and Sarah, advised “that there were a number of issues with the Trust Structures and that they were of no effect”: witness statement of Mr Wood dated21 February 2023 . Accordingly, an application was made to the Jersey Court for a declaration that the trusts were of no effect. This was granted on8 December 2020 . The current position is therefore that (i) 54 Adam & Eve Mews is held in Princess Sarah's sole name and (ii) 56 Adam & Eve Mews and 1 Phillimore Terrace are held in the names of Princess Sarah and three of her children, on trust for Princess Sarah and all five of her children.”
“Further to my mother's wishes to take care of her grandchildren, she made funds available for the purchase of 1 Phillimore Terrace and 56 Adam & Eve Mews in December 2016. Both properties are jointly legally owned by my sons Prince Saud, Prince Khaled, Prince Abdulaziz and my wife Princess Sarah. Pursuant to a declaration of trust, these properties are beneficially owned by my wife and all of my five children. As my mother has made clear in her September 2019 statement and in her evidence made support of the 2021Application she never intended for me to have a right to use or stay in the New London Properties.”
“To assist your client in coming to the conclusion that the application is doomed to fail, we are instructed to set out briefly why the Defendant has no beneficial interest in the London Properties. It is not necessary for our clients to do this as, of course, their affairs are private… We deal first with 24 York House as that property has been held for the longest time. The sole legal and beneficial ownership of 24 York House is with the Defendant's mother, Princess Noorah. 24 York House has been her London home for more than 40 years and continues to be so. The lease was originally purchased by her with her own money. The same applies to the lease extension and the premium paid for it… The other London Properties were purchased in December 2016 and February 2017. The evidence in the affidavit is effectively identical for all three, i.e. speculation that the Defendant has a beneficial interest. Again, there is no actual evidence that he does and the reason for this is because he does not. As stated above, the burden is on you and you have failed to discharge that so that the application should be dismissed. All of the purchase monies for the other London Properties were provided by Princess Noorah. They came entirely from her own funds in which no other person had any legal or beneficial interest. For the avoidance of doubt, those funds did not relate to Saudi Plastic in any way. Princess Noorah wished for properties to be available for her immediate family, mainly her five grandchildren and some great-grandchildren in the vicinity of 24 York House so that the family could enjoy time together in London.”
“whatever the cultural restrictions on Saudis when in Saudi Arabia as regards mingling of the sexes and other matters, these restrictions are not necessarily observed when Saudis are holidaying or living abroad, particularly in Western Europe where gender mixing will be inevitable (travelling by plane, staying in hotels, studying in universities etc.). Nor is gender segregation always observed, with many Saudi Arabian households having servants (who are not relatives) living in the house and many Saudi women being driven by chauffeurs.”
“Yes, yes, of course, I allow this. When he asks me, I allow him and I take permission, as I said, from the officer. He is my only son, you know.”
“If I needed her, I'm sure she wouldn't mind, but, you know, my main ambition is to be independent of anybody.”
“I don’t know this is Sarah’s business.”
“Not at all, actually. I don't think that way. Of course everybody want to protect his things, but this house, I told you now and I swear on the Koran before I start this, I will tell you the truth and nothing but the truth, this house [the New London Properties] bought by my mother for my kids and their wives and their kids, and of course Sarah as well. That's the whole purpose of buying this house and it was definitely in the name of the people who this house is bought for.”
“it is common sense”
“of course they will agree, there will be no problem, but this is the right thing to do. I wouldn't go to my children house where their wives are there, their clothes are there, remove their clothes out of the rooms and -- you know, it's not something we do. It's not our usual behaviours, you know. Our usual behaviour if somebody has a house, for him and for his wife, and for even the wives wouldn't like that we move them from room to room and move their clothes from room to room, their kids with their things. So the permission, what does the permission mean? It's not the permission as you understand it: please can I ask, can I stay? No, permission is if it's okay that we use some of the rooms which are not going to be your kids or your wife instead we have other people as well, we have five kids, four kids and a daughter, she has a husband, they have wives, there's different people. It's not only our kids, it's other people as well, other respected people, we have to take care of them and respect them. We will not go to a house and then everybody can go from the street and live in the house, not ask any permission from anybody, we don't do this, this is not our way of living.”
“When Prince Hussam would visit London, he and his family would stay in hotels nearby Princess Noorah’s home at York House Place. I recall that Prince Hussam would stay at Browns in Dover Street, or another hotel (the name of which I cannot remember) which was located nearby High Street Kensington. I remember that the hotel in High Street Kensington was preferred by Prince Hussam and I regularly picked him up from and dropped him off there. I do not have any memory of Prince Hussam residing at York House…”
“This process was unchanged from early on in the London Years until the mid-2010s due to its administrative convenience. In particular, by Prince Hussam remaining registered for council tax, I was assisted in undertaking the administrative tasks that arose in carrying out my duties, including looking after York House, making travel arrangements for the Al Saud Family and obtaining visas.”
“The purchase was funded partly by the money provided by Princess Noorah and partly through a mortgage from Coutts. Although the mortgage deed is in my sole name, Coutts required the loan to be in the joint names of the Defendant and me as I had no residential address or financial track record in the UK at that time. They required a bank account to be opened in joint names from which the mortgage payments would be taken. This is what happened. All of the mortgage payments have been made by money being paid into that joint account by my company, Lenea International Est as can be seen from the statements. I am the sole signatory on the Lenea International Est account. These payments are funded by a combination of income from Lenea and my personal income (I have a monthly allowance from the government and some other personal income) which I have paid in to the Lenea account for this purpose.”
“What I recall is that trust is very complicated for me. It's like a maths puzzle and I hate puzzles, so I left it to the lawyers.”
“56 Adam and Eve Mews Properties and 1 Phillimore Terrace are jointly legally owned by her and her sons, Princes Saud, Khaled and Abdulaziz. Furthermore, since only four legal owners can be registered on the legal titles, they are beneficially owned by her and all five of her children pursuant to a declaration of trust dated23 December 2016 .”
“Because he asked me if he could stay when I said come and see the house, he asked me to check if the others --because I am the one who speak with the children, it's not appropriate for a father to go -- if I am the mother and I am one of the beneficiary owners, why should he go and ask his children?”
“a person who has his home abroad and visits the United Kingdom from time to time for temporary purposes without setting up an establishment in this country is not considered to be resident here… a man may have two homes- one in London and the other in the country- so he may have a home abroad and a home in the United Kingdom, and in that case he is held to reside in both places…”
“English legislation is primarily territorial, and it is no departure from that principle to say that a foreigner coming to this country and trading here, and here committing an act of bankruptcy, is subject to our laws…”
“The words “debtor” and “creditor” certainly cannot be sufficient to give jurisdiction to the English Court of Bankruptcy, because, if unlimited they would give jurisdiction all over the world in respect of debts, petitions, or acts of bankruptcy committed anywhere; and it is a familiar maxim of the law," Extra territorium jus dicenti non impune paretur." Once it is admitted that a limit must be placed upon those words, it must follow that the limit must be "debtor" and "creditor" respectively who are subject to the jurisdiction of the English bankruptcy law. And this is not an assuming of the question or a mere inverting of the proposition, because if one sees what jurisdiction is expressly created it will be seen that the limitation to the English bankruptcy jurisdiction is necessarily local. It does not include Great Britain. It is limited in its terms to England; and I think it would be impossible to suppose that if the Legislature had intended so broad a jurisdiction as is contended for here, it would not have conferred it by express enactment.”
“I derive three principles. The first principle is that a man can have two residences. He can have a flat in London and a house in the country. He is resident in both. The second principle is that temporary presence at an address does not make a man resident there. A guest who comes for the weekend is not resident. A short-stay visitor is not resident. The third principle is that temporary absence does not deprive a person of his residence. If he happens to be away for a holiday or away for the weekend or in hospital, he does not lose his residence on that account.”
“I think that a person may properly be said to be " resident" in a place when his stay there has a considerable degree of permanence.”
“Ordinary residence is not a term of art in English law. But it embodies an idea of which Parliament has made increasing use in the statute law of the United Kingdom since the beginning of the 19th century. The words have been a feature of Income Tax Acts since 1806. They were used in the English family law when it was decided to give a wife the right to petition for divorce notwithstanding the foreign domicile of her husband:Matrimonial Causes Act 1950, section 18 (1) (b) . Ordinary or habitual residence has, in effect, now supplanted domicile as the test of jurisdiction in family law: and, as Eveleigh L.J. in the Court of JJ Appeal [1982] Q.B. 688, 721-722, reminded us the concept is used in a number of 20th century statutes…”
“And there must be a degree of settled purpose. The purpose may be one; or there may be several. It may be specific or general. All that the law requires is that there is a settled purpose. This is not to say that the "propositus" intends to stay where he is indefinitely; indeed his purpose, while settled, may be for a limited period. Education, business or profession, employment, health, family, or merely love of the place spring to mind as common reasons for a choice of regular abode. And there may well be many others. All that is necessary is that the purpose of living where one does has a sufficient degree of continuity to be properly described as settled.”
“I think it may be possible to find that the debtor had a dwelling house in England although he was not in fact in occupation of it at any time during the year. If it be established that he had a dwelling house to start with but he happened to be away throughout the year for a temporary purpose but with intent to return, it may be that on the facts of a particular case one could find he had a dwelling house, but the more there is actual occupation, the easier it is to reach the conclusion that there was a dwelling house, and the shorter the actual occupation, the more difficult it becomes.”
“…he had installed the mother of his son there, and it appears from the evidence that he did at least go to see her there and may well have stayed nights, although whether he ought to be regarded as her guest or she as his might be a somewhat difficult question.”
“It does not follow that this is the only way [identifying a single residence] in which [residence] this can be proved. If the evidence satisfies the court that the debtor has lived in England for a sufficiently substantial period in a manner or for a reason inconsistent with his presence in the country being of a purely transitory character, I can see no reason why the court should be precluded from finding that he ordinarily resided here within the meaning of section 4 (1) (d) merely because the evidence does not disclose where in England he was living.”
“Accordingly, in my judgment, Re Brauch continues to retain its precedential effect when addressing the meaning of “place of residence” under s. 265.”
“some degree of permanence, some degree of continuity or some expectation of continuity.”
“[24] On the basis of the submissions made before me today the appeal comes down to a very short point of statutory construction: does the test of having a place of residence in section 263I simply mean, as Mr Underwood submitted, that the debtor should have had an entitlement of some sort to occupy a place that is capable of being described as someone's place of residence or does it require an assessment of the quality of the residence of the debtor, as Mr Phillips submitted ? [25] On that point I have no hesitation in rejecting Mr Underwood's submission. In the first place, it is not supported by the statutory language. As set out in section 263I(2), the test is that "the debtor .. has had a place of residence". On the plain meaning of those words, therefore, the residence must be that of the debtor not someone else. Mr Underwood's construction effectively asks the court to rewrite the statutory language and replace the concept of residence with one of mere occupation. But that is not the wording used in section 263I.”
“The real protection for the foreign respondent is that there has to be a sufficient connection between the respondent and the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of The Bahamas before the court has jurisdiction to entertain the claim for avoidance of the payment of the redemption proceeds under section 160 if the respondent is outside its jurisdiction (see Paramount Airways above). ”
“The registrar had to say upon the evidence before him whether the debtor had in fact abandoned Downs House as his dwelling-house for more than a year before the filing of the petition. He came to the conclusion that the debtor had done this, and I can see no reason for differing from his conclusion.”
“he might very easily, after he went away to Paris have adopted the house again as his dwelling-house.”
“This illustrates that in a given case, in order to determine the nature of the debtor's connection with the property said to be his or her place of residence, the court may have to consider, as a relevant factor, the debtor's state of mind, or intentions, with regard to the property's use. In Nordenfelt, an intention to "abandon" or relinquish the house as a dwelling (in that case at least to some extent acted upon by the debtor) was enough to change its character for these purposes, even though his intention was not irreversible.”
“Princess Noorah wished for properties to be available for her immediate family, mainly her five grandchildren and some great-grandchildren in the vicinity of 24 York House so that the family could enjoy time together in London.”
“Q. In short, the use of the properties is fluid, it's adaptable? A. No, it depends on the time and the permission given. It's not an open house, [where] everybody can go and stay in it. It's not a hotel.”
“I remember I was away, I was with the King somewhere”
“…at that time I was -- my life had changes dramatically that I am not part of the family anymore. As I now, now, at this moment of time, I live away from the family, I'm not part of the family. They all live in Riyadh, I live in Bahah. Even when I come to Riyadh I live separately, you know, so it's since 2015 my life had changed…”
“When living at York House…I registered to pay Council Tax and remained registered until December 2019 because the family in the past would use evidence of payment of Council Tax by me to enable the children to obtain student visas. However, from around 2014, Princess Sarah arranged payment of the Council Tax.”
“I was the person who decided to register York House council tax in the name of Prince Hussam rather that Princess Noorah. This made sense to me because Prince Hussam was staying in London for over six months a year at this point…”
“ Q. Can you tell me how you say the registration of Prince Hussam as the payer of council tax helps members of the family obtain visas? A. He applies for it like any other application. Q. What I'm asking is why are you saying that being registered for council tax helps? A. (In English) I don't know about this. I have no idea. Q. Could I ask you finally about Mr Hanjra? A. Yes, please. Q. He has been a very loyal retainer. A. Yes, correct. Q. He's been with you a very long time. A. Yes. Q. He's been in charge of organising everything to do with York House for you, hasn't he? A. Yes.”
“Q. So there would have been a further form you would have filled out when poll tax -- A. Yes, if there was, I would have. And if there was one, I definitely had done that.”
“my reasoning -- my -- as I mentioned over here, in those days, you could not open an account if you don't have an address, and, my Lord, the rule still stays the same: you cannot open an account if you don't have a utility bill or a council tax. It was for the convenience. To open up a bank account you need to have a -- you need to have an address. If you are not renting a property, my Lord, you can't have any address.”
“Q. And in respect of the council tax, did you consult Prince Hussam as to whether he should or should not be shown as somebody registered as responsible for the council tax? A. No. Q. So it's something you took on yourself? A. That's correct.”
“It's never been my intention -- knew that I pay council tax until 2019, before I don't remember. Secondly, it was not my decision, it was Mr Hanjra decision to have to do this, and of course it's under my name at the end of the day, but it's not a decision which is took by me actually.”
“I have no interest in London. Let me tell you something. Since I left London after finishing my studies, I -- you know, I regarded London, although I had wonderful memories there in my early years, London for me is like -- there's something in English you say about the bus driver who takes people to the holiday, it's like that, it's a workplace for me, so it's not a leisure place that I will go. I decided not to go.”
“In April 1990, after I had completed my Ph.D., I went back to Riyadh for good, together with my wife and children. Once again, our life was to be entirely in Saudi (except for holidays and any medical or business trips). We took all our belongings with us to Saudi and handed the keys of York House to Mr. Hanjra. I was very happy and excited to go back to my country, my family, and my men’s quarter with my friends who I knew since I was a child and who I really missed while in London.”
“Once I had achieved my PhD, my relationship with London fundamentally altered.”
“You will be with [the King] all the time, every single day, and travel with him and be with him all the time, everywhere he is we are there…if he goes abroad we are with him…there is a daily dinner with him.”
“my life had changes dramatically that I am not part of the family anymore. As I now, now, at this moment of time, I live away from the family, I'm not part of the family. They all live in Riyadh, I live in Bahah. Even when I come to Riyadh I live separately, you know, so it's since 2015 my life had changed, that of course I'm the head of the family, there's no -- my mother is the head of the family, but I am the head of my own family, but I am not part of their London properties, for example, and I wasn't part of -- I'm not part -- it's for the kids and the mews was bought for Sarah and her close friends. So this is what the intention was.”
“not a leisure place”
“…to be honest, it's a holiday with Sarah, it's not a holiday in London, I'm going to see London, no. I'm going to see my wife who wanted to show me her house. This is exactly what happened.”
“Since 2016, I have only been to London on three occasions for brief periods of time. From 15 to26 July 2016 , I stayed at the Adria Hotel and from 23 January to6 February 2017 , I stayed at Brown's hotel… I last visited England from27 February 2018 to5 March 2018 (for a total of 7 days) when I stayed at a London property owned by my wife and children for a holiday with my family and I have not been back since.”
“temporary presence at an address does not make a man resident there.”