A mother who secretly moved to New Zealand with her child in defiance of a European court order is facing further court action.
The woman left Europe with the girl in November 2014 in what the Family Court in New Zealand described as an egregious breach of her legal obligations.
In a decision just released, the Court of Appeal said it would consider the father's application to continue to fight for custody, even though it was filed 20 days late.
The Family Court in May declined to make an order to return the child to Europe because it was not in the child's best interests to move her.
The father, who was granted custody in Europe, wants to appeal, but had initially filed papers with the Supreme Court by mistake.
In granting him a time extension, the judge said his case was not hopeless and the question of who should have primary care of the child was worth serious argument.