circles after a Bermudian judge waded into the middle of a bitter and ongoing Ontario child custody battle, The Royal Gazette has learned.

The decision by Puisne Judge Vincent Meerabux on October 31, 1996 to issue an ex parte child custody order in Bermuda while the matter "remains seized'', or reserved before the Canadian courts, has been questioned by a Toronto lawyer representing the child's mother. He said the case remained under the jurisdiction of his country's courts.

However Georgia Marshall, who represents the father, denied any conventions had been broken and said the court merely acted in the best interests of the child.

At issue is the fate of a six-year-old Canadian child, the subject of a three-year legal tug-of-war. In late August, 1996 an Ontario court awarded sole custody to the father who told the judge at the time he and his daughter were going to put their lives back together in the Toronto area.

But two months later he married a Bermudian and with the child in tow moved to the Island.

Four days after leaving Canada the father was granted "custody, care, and control of the minor child'', by Mr. Justice Meerabux.

The Supreme Court further issued an order prohibiting the mother, or her agents, from removing the child from Bermuda without the consent of the court.

The order follows an August 26 Ontario Court ruling by Madam Justice Janet Wilson, who granted the father sole custody of the child with the provision for supervised access by the mother, and ongoing family therapy by a court-appointed psychologist. That ruling was never appealed by the mother, court documents indicate.

However the earlier Ontario decision also stated: "This court orders and adjudges that the Honourable Madam Justice Wilson remains seized of this matter and that under the Divorce Act (of Ontario) the terms of access shall be reviewed on 21 February, 1997.'' Mr. Justice Meerabux's intervention was a surprise, Toronto lawyer John Legge, who represents the mother, told The Royal Gazette.

He said judges in different jurisdictions should give full force and effect to the judgments of each other regardless of where they preside.

"Otherwise you get what's called jurisdiction shopping -- where if you don't like the decision of one court you simply have it heard somewhere else,'' he said.

Meanwhile upon learning of the father's move to Bermuda, Madam Justice Wilson issued an order setting aside the trial judgment on the grounds of fraud and deceit, reasserted Ontario's jurisdiction, revoked her custody order, and commanded the father to return to Toronto with the child.

The father -- who has since been cited with civil contempt of court -- has been told to return to Toronto with the child for a January 17 appearance or face the consequences.

Counsel for the father, however, contend his move to Bermuda was legal because Ontario law does not prohibit him from leaving the province.

"The court of Bermuda was advised of the whole of the situation and acted in the best interests of the child,'' said Ms Marshall. She added that the mother had not abided by the Ontario ruling to pay $565 monthly child support or exercised her right to access.

While Madam Justice Wilson may have been offended by the Bermuda court's ruling, Ms Marshall noted "there is plethora of authority'' for shared jurisdiction in child custody cases.