Case Law Search

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

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

Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Article 15 Decision or Determination

Appeal allowed, return refused

Appeal allowed, return refused: the removal of the children was not wrongful.

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

Appeal allowed, return ordered

Appeal allowed and return ordered; acquiescence had not been proved to the standard required under the Convention.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3

Application dismissed

Appeal dismissed and application dismissed, by a majority the Court of Appeal ruled that the child had no habitual residence on the relevant date.

Procedural Matters

Appeal inadmissible. The issue of the child's best interests could only be evoked to oppose the enforcement if a change in circumstances had occurred between the issuance of the return order and its enforcement. It was for the judge seized with an application for modification to decide on this point.

Consent - Art. 13(1)(a)

Appeal declared inadmissible. The existence of a valid consent does not generally raise any important question of law which may be referred to the Supreme Court (Oberster Gerichtshof). Nor had the Court of Appeal, in the case at hand, made any key misinterpretations requiring correction by the Supreme Court.

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

Procedural Matters

Appeal dismissed. The condition had indeed been met (though in a different form), but this was due to a US decision which was a new fact that the Federal Tribunal might not consider.

Rights of Access - Art. 21 | Non-Convention Issues

Agreement as to contact between mother and the children in the United Kingdom and Pakistan made by consent.

Interpretation of the Convention

Appeal dismissed; refusal to make a custody order upheld. The Court held that Article 16 prohibits a custody decision on the merits where a return order has been made but not yet enforced.

Removal and Retention - Arts 3 and 12 | Procedural Matters

Challenge upheld and decision of the Cour d'appel overruled; case remitted to the Cour d'appel of Toulouse.

Rights of Custody - Art. 3

Challenge to legality dismissed; the retention of the child was wrongful.

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

Return ordered

Challenge to legality dismissed; the child was habitually resident in Canada on the relevant date, therefore the retention was wrongful. None of the exceptions was established.

Habitual Residence - Art. 3

Appeal allowed, application dismissed

Appeal allowed and application dismissed; the removal was not wrongful as the children were habitually resident in Denmark on the relevant date.

Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Interpretation of the Convention

Appeal allowed, return ordered

Appeal allowed and return ordered in respect of the youngest child as the Article 13 exception of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention did not apply. Application rejected in respect of the older children, who were over 16 years old.

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

Appeal allowed, return ordered

Return ordered; the "grave risk of harm" exception had not been established.

Aims of the Convention - Preamble, Arts 1 and 2 | Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2) | Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Best Interests of the Child

Case remitted to lower court

Wrongful retention of a child when she was 5 years old - US national - parents married - father US national - mother Colombian national - both parents had custody rights under the Convention - child lived in the US until 19 December 2015 - return application was filed before the US Central Authority on 13 June 2016 - lower court was ordered to make a new judgment in the international return proceedings, taking into account the child's views - main issues: aims of the Convention - Preamble, settlement of the child, acquiescense, art. 13(1)(b) grave risk exception, child's objections to return – the best interests of the child is to be returned to his or her center of life without delay, unless one of the grounds of exception is proven - assessment of the child's settlement is appropriate only if one year has elapsed between the wrongful conduct and the date of filing of the international return application - the grave risk must be greater than the natural hardship that may result from a change of his or her residence or the dislocation of the current living group - the decision on the application of the exception of Art. 13(2) requires consideration of the voice of the child who is of sufficient age and maturity.

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

Case remitted to lower court

A court is not categorically required to examine all possible ameliorative measures before denying a Hague Convention petition for return of a child to a foreign country once the court has found that return would expose the child to a grave risk of harm.

Case remanded to District Court to determine whether the measures considered are adequate to order return in light of the District Court’s factual findings concerning the risk to the child, bearing in mind that the Convention sets as a primary goal the safety of the child.

Rights of Custody - Art. 3 | Settlement of the Child - Art. 12(2) | Acquiescence - Art. 13(1)(a) | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Objections of the Child to a Return - Art. 13(2) | Human Rights - Art. 20 | Issues Relating to Return

Return refused

Return refused. The father did not have rights of custody within the meaning of Article 3. 

Removal and Retention - Arts 3 and 12 | Grave Risk - Art. 13(1)(b) | Procedural Matters | Best Interests of the Child

Appeal allowed, return refused