Principle on which questions relating to custody, upbringing etc. of children are to be decided.E+W
1(1)Where in any proceedings before any court (whether or not a court as defined in section 15 of this Act)—
(a)the legal custody or upbringing of a child; or
(b)the administration of any property belonging to or held on trust for a child, or the application of the income thereof,
is in question, the court, in deciding that question, shall regard the welfare of the child as the first and paramount consideration, and shall not take into consideration whether from any other point of view the claim of the father in respect of such legal custody, upbringing, administration or application is superior to that of the mother, or the claim of the mother is superior to that of the father.