Case Law Search

Aims of the Convention - Preamble, Arts 1 and 2 | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Procedural Matters

Appeal allowed, return refused

Appeal allowed; return refused.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Human Rights - Art. 20

Return ordered

2 children wrongfully removed at ages 11 and 13 – Nationals of Portugal –divorced parents  – Father national of Portugal – Mother national of Portugal – Custody rights disputed – Children lived in Portugal until January 2013  – Application for return filed with the Central Authority of Portugal in April 2013 – Return ordered – Main issues: Article 13(1)(b) – Grave risk of harm – even though the children did not seem to have a good relationship with their father there was not found to be a serious risk of harm should they return to Portugal and the exception did not apply; Article 13 – Child’s objections - the children’s opinions primarily had to be regarded as a desire to live with their mother, rather than as resistance to returning to Portugal and so the exception did not apply; Article 20 – Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms – the court held that it was consistent with human rights for the children to be returned and that the exception did not apply.

Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

4 children wrongfully removed to Japan ― Parents married in 2001 and living in the United States ― Father and mother nationals of Japan ― 5 children ― The parents separated and had been living apart since 2011 ― The mother obtained a restraining order against the father for the third time in 2012, along with a provisional custody order over the 5 children ― The father removed 4 of their 5 children via Canada to Japan in 2014 ― The parents obtained a divorce decree in the United States in 2014, which declared the mother as the sole custodian ― The mother filed an application for return with the courts of Japan in 2014 ― The Tokyo Family Court ordered return ― The father filed an appeal ― Main issues: No objections of the children ― No grave risk in ordering return of the child.

Consent - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2)

Appeal dismissed, return refused

1 child removed to Japan ― National of Algeria and Japan ― Married parents ― Father an Algerian national, Mother a Japanese national ― Parents married in France in 1998 ― Child born in 2004 and lived in France until 2015 ― Mother removed and has retained the child in Japan ― Petition for return of the child filed with the Osaka Family Court ― Petition dismissed ― Appeal to the Osaka High Court dismissed ― Main issues: Father’s Consent or Acquiescence ― Grave Risk for the Child ― Child’s objection

Habitual Residence - Art. 3

Appeal allowed, return ordered

1 child wrongfully removed at age 4 – Child lived in France until August 2012 – Return ordered – Main issue: habitual residence – Habitual residence should be determined in the light of all the factual circumstances particular to the case, including the parents’ shared intention and decisions taken with a view to ensure the child’s integration

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Consent - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Procedural Matters

Return ordered

Return ordered. The removal was wrongful and none of the exceptions invoked applied.

Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Interpretation of the Convention

Appeal dismissed; the pleas raised were not grounds for quashing.

Rights of Custody - Art. 3

Appeal allowed, quashing and annulment of the ruling dismissing the application for the child's return and referral of the case to the Versailles Court of Appeal to act upon the return application in the light of the Supreme Court's ruling.

Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2) | Human Rights - Art. 20 | Procedural Matters

Appeal allowed and case remitted to trial court; the trial court had failed to give due consideration to the child's status as a refugee when determining the return application. Furthermore, there had been procedural failings in the conduct of the trial and the exceptions to return had not been investigated properly.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Brussels IIa Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003)

The Belgian courts have no jurisdiction: the existence of acquiescence by the father in the child's wrongful retention precludes the international jurisdiction of the Belgian courts on the basis of Article 10 of the Brussels II a Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003).

Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Procedural Matters

Preliminary ruling issued to the effect that a Member State was not precluded from requiring by its law that an unmarried father must have obtained a court order granting him custody of a child in order to qualify as having "custody rights" which would render the removal of that child from its country of habitual residence as wrongful for the purposes of Article 2(11) of Council Regulation 2201/2003.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Undertakings | Issues Relating to Return

Return ordered subject to undertakings

Removal wrongful and return ordered; Article 13(1)(b) had not been proved to the standard required under the Convention.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Procedural Matters

Appeal dismissed; there had been a wrongful retention since the child had her habitual residence in Italy.

Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Procedural Matters

Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Undertakings | Issues Relating to Return | Jurisdiction Issues - Art. 16

Return ordered subject to undertakings

Appeal dismissed and return ordered, subject to undertakings. The retention was wrongful; the grave risk defence under Article 13(1)(b) had not been established. There was no evidence to substantiate the mother's allegations of mistreatment at the hands of the father.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Non-Convention Issues

Appeal allowed; the High Court did not have jurisdiction, the child not being habitually resident in England and Wales on the date proceedings were commenced.

Aims of the Convention - Preamble, Arts 1 and 2 | Consent - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Issues Relating to Return

Return refused

Removal wrongful but return refused; Article 13(1)(a) and Article 13(1)(b) had both been proved to the standard required under the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

1 child wrongfully removed at age 7 – Unmarried, separated parents – Joint parental authority, mother primary carer – Child lived in France until 31 December 2018 – Return ordered – Main issue: Article 13(1)(b): a decision of refusal to return a child should be based on the risk of 'exposure' to harm. Where a fellow signatory to the 1980 Convention has found that there was no such grave risk of exposure to harm it would be rare to find the opposite. 

Removal and Retention - Arts 3 and 12 | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

Return ordered

The court ordered the return of the children to the State of Connecticut, United States of America, within two weeks of the order becoming final and binding.

Procedural Matters | Interpretation of the Convention

Appeal allowed, return ordered

The court allowed the appeal and ordered the child’s return to Italy. The situation did not amount to a “fundamental change in circumstances” required in order to set aside a decision under the 1980 Convention.