Case Law Search

European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) | Procedural Matters | Brussels IIa Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003)

The Hague Convention proceedings in Slovakia were held not to be in compliance with the requirements of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

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

Appeal allowed, return ordered subject to undertakings

1 child wrongfully removed at age 6 – Unmarried parents – The mother had day-to-day care of the child and the father had supervised contact – Child lived in New Zealand until May 2016 – Application for return heard at first instance in December 2016 – First appeal: application dismissed – Second appeal: return ordered – Main issues: rights of custody, Art. 13(1)(b) grave risk exception, undertakings / conditions for return – The finding that there is no ”grave risk” within the meaning of Article 13(1)(b) “while at the same time foreshadowing a preparedness to impose conditions on the order for return” can be consistent - fulfilment of conditions prior to the child’s return should be feasible and cannot place the taking parent in a better situation than she was before the removal

Habitual Residence - Art. 3

Return refused

1 child allegedly wrongfully removed at age 4 – National of Poland – Married parents – Father national of Poland – Mother national of Poland – Parents exercised joint rights of custody – Child lived in Norway until June 2012 and then Poland until December 2012 – Application for return filed with the Central Authority of Norway in December 2012 –Return refused – Main issue: Article 3 – habitual residence – the child was habitually resident in Norway and so the return to Norway from Poland did not constitute an unlawful removal.

One child wrongfully removed at age 1 – National of Israel – Married parents  – Mother national of Russia – Joint custody rights – Child lived in Israel until August 1996 – Application for return filed in October 1998 – Return refused – Main issue(s): Article 13(1)(b) – there was a grave risk of psychological harm to the child, severe enough to invoke Article 13(1)(b), even though its cause is mostly related to the threat to the mother.

Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

The mother’s complaint appeal was rejected and the father’s application for the return of the child was approved. It was not possible to establish any reason why the child’s wellbeing would be endangered in the event that he were returned.

Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Consent - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

The complaint appeal was rejected and it was once again ordered that the child be returned. No evidence was found that the child’s wellbeing was in danger due to the fact, that the father lost custody of his other daughter because of sexual abuse and his alleged paedophilic tendencies.

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

Return ordered with undertakings offered

2 children wrongfully removed at ages 4 and 7– Nationals of Canada and Norway – Married parents – Father national of Norway – Mother national of Canada – Both parents had rights of custody – Children lived in Hong Kong until 21 September 2018 – Application for return filed with the courts of Ontario (Canada) at the end of January 2019 – Return ordered – Main issue: Article 13(1)(b) Grave Risk – Evidence did not meet the 13(1)(b) threshold. Court considered affidavit and legal opinion from lawyer in Hong Kong – Undertakings – Undertakings necessary to secure safe, prompt and seamless return of children and to provide for transition between return order and when children are placed before the Hong Kong courts.

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

Return refused

2 children (twins) wrongfully removed at age 3 - Nationals of Canada and the United States of America - Married parents - Father national of the United States of America - Mother national of Canada - Joint custody - Children lived in the United States of America until October 2013 - Application for return filed with the Central Authority of Manitoba on February 2014 - Return refused - Main issues: consent to removal, Art 13(1) (b) grave risk exception to return, undertakings - Consent and acquiescence, within the meaning of Art. 13(1)(a), must be given “their plain, ordinary meaning”, and evidence to establish consent or acquiescence must be “clear and cogent” - The provision by one parent of time-limited travel consent is insufficient to prove that the parent consented to the removal or retention - Exceptionally, return may be refused under Art. 13(1)(b) if there is compelling evidence of severe long-standing and escalating physical and psychological harm inflicted on the taking parent and the children

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

Appeal allowed, return ordered

2 children wrongfully removed at ages 3 and 2 - Nationals of Switzerland and the United Kingdom - Divorced parents - Father national of the United Kingdom - Mother national of Switzerland - Joint rights of custody; the father had supervised access rights while the mother effectively exercised custody - Repeated incidents of domestic violence were known to the social services - Children lived in the United Kingdom (England and Wales) until 25 March 2016 - Application for return filed with the first instance court in Switzerland on 5 September 2016 - Return ordered - Main issues: exceptions to ordering return - The exceptions to return should be interpreted restrictively - The determination whether ordering return would place the child in an intolerable situation, within the meaning of Art. 13(1)(b) of the 1980 Child Abduction Hague Convention, may only be made in respect of the child, and not the taking parent -  Return must be ordered if the actual cause of the risk of placing the child in an intolerable situation upon return is an unfounded refusal of the taking parent to return with the child - The taking parent may stay in an area far from the left-behind parent's place of residence upon return to the requesting State, in order to preserve the stability that was gained by geographic separation from the left-behind parent

Procedural Matters

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

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

The child’s mother’s application for an interlocutory order was rejected. The court ruled that it was not able to find any evidence that there would be grave consequences for the child if the order of the Higher Regional Court were enforced.

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

Leave to appeal refused and non return order therefore confirmed; the trial judge had been entitled to accept the objections of the two older children and to exercise her discretion not to return any of the children.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 |

CJEU - Preliminary ruling issued, case remitted to national courts

Preliminary ruling given on the interpretation of habitual residence as an autonomous concept within the Brussels IIa Regulation. The Court concluded that the child’s habitual residence was in Greece and therefore the Court considered that there had not been an unlawful retention by the mother

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Issues Relating to Return | Procedural Matters

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

Appeal allowed, the exception of grave risk was inapplicable; case returned to the Superior Court of the canton of Lucerne for a ruling on the terms of the return to Burkina Faso.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Undertakings | Human Rights - Art. 20 | Procedural Matters

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

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

Removal and Retention - Arts 3 and 12

Appeal dismissed; the Court of Appeal had rightly taken into account the High Court judgment to refuse a return order.

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

Order made that the 6 year old child subject of the proceedings be interviewed and assessed.

Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Brussels IIa Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003)

Brussels IIa Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003)

Preliminary ruling given, inter alia, on the meaning of habitual residence as a Community concept within Brussels II a Regulation (Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003).