Case Law Search

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

Return ordered

Appeal dismissed and return ordered; the retention was wrongful and none of the exceptions had been established to the standard required under the Convention.

Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2) | Procedural Matters

Appeal allowed, return refused

Appeal allowed and return refused. The removal was wrongful but more than 12 months had elapsed prior to the issue of proceedings and further to Article 12(2) the children were now settled in their new environment.

Non-Convention Issues | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

Return ordered

Return ordered.

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

Return ordered

Wrongful retention of a 7-year-old boy - Venezuelan – unmarried parents – Venezuelan father - Venezuelan mother – The rights of custody were jointly exercised – The child lived in Venezuela until November 2012 – The return request was filed before the Panamenian courts in November 2014 – Return ordered – Main Issues: habitual residence, removal and retention, grave risk, procedural matters – The child’s habitual residence was in Venezuela – Removal was wrongful because the travel authorisation used by the mother was false – It was not proved that the father abused the child; the refugee status request was not an impediment against return – Measures were adopted for the child’s safe return to his habitual residence.

European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR)

Unanimous: no breach of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2)

Appeal allowed, return refused

Appeal allowed and return refused; Article 12(2) had been proved to the standard required by the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention and discretion exercised not to make a return order.

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

Return ordered

Return ordered.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3

Application dismissed

Application dismissed; the retention was not wrongful as the children were no longer habitually resident in Australia on the relevant date.

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

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

One child (Russian national) born in 2014 resided in Russia ― Father and mother Russian nationals ― Parents married in 2014 in Russia ― Parents divorced in 2016 ― Mother took the child to Japan in October 2017 and settled there following her remarriage ― A ne exeat order of the Russian court was partly set aside by confirming the child’s temporary residence in Japan in January 2019 ― Central Authority of Japan assisted the Father with a return application in July 2018 ― Father filed petition for the child’s return to the Tokyo Family Court in October 2018 ― Return ordered ― Appeal dismissed by the Tokyo High Court in February 2019 ― Main issues: rights of custody and grave risk.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Best Interests of the Child | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Non-Convention Issues

Return refused

Habitual Residence - Art. 3 | Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2) | Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

Appeal allowed, return ordered

Wrongful removal of a seven-month-old child – U.S. national – Married parents – Father a U.S. citizen – Mother a Brazilian citizen – Shared rights of custody – Child lived in the United States from birth until May 2021 – Return application submitted to the Central Authority in the United States in September 2021 – Appeal allowed, return ordered – Key issues: habitual residence, rights of custody, settlement of the child, grave risk exception – The child’s habitual residence was in the United States – Custody matters must be resolved by the courts of the State of the child’s habitual residence – The father filed the return application within one year of the wrongful retention – The Court held that the allegations of domestic violence were not substantiated, and that neither the child’s separation from the taking parent nor the immigration obstacles faced by the mother were sufficient to establish the grave risk exception.

Removal and Retention - Arts 3 and 12 | Consent - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Jurisdiction Issues - Art. 16 | Best Interests of the Child

Appeal dismissed, return ordered

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Best Interests of the Child | Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2)

Appeal allowed, return ordered

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

Return ordered

Return ordered. The Judge did not accept that it was likely that the mother would not return with the child and therefore did not find any grave risk of harm or intolerability caused by separation from the mother. 

Consent - Art. 13(1)(a) | Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b)

Return ordered

Return ordered. The Court dismissed the exceptions based upon consent, acquiescence and Article 13(1)(b). In the circumstances it was for the Dutch courts to determine the child’s long term welfare.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Procedural Matters

Return ordered

Appeal dismissed and return ordered; the standard required under Article 13(1)(b) had not been met.

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

Return ordered with undertakings offered

Return ordered; the standard required under Articles 13(1)(b) and 13(2) had not been met.

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

Appeal dismissed, return ordered subject to undertakings

Appeal dismissed and return ordered subject to undertakings; the standard required under Article 13(1)(b) to indicate that the child would face a grave risk of psychological harm had not been met.

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

Return ordered subject to undertakings

Return ordered subject to undertakings; the standard required under Article 13(1)(b) to indicate that the child would face a grave risk of psychological harm had not been met.

Removal and Retention - Arts 3 and 12 | Consent - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2)

Return ordered

Return ordered; while the boy's objections to a return were valid and should be taken into account, the girl's were not and it was held that they should not be separated.