engleski

The Cross-Border Child Abduction Under the COVID-19 “New Normal”

The “new normal” brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic was cause of many disturbances in various areas of human lives. The new circumstances of life demanded inter alia drafting of the new definitions for certain legal concepts and revisiting of the standardised practices, including in the area of international and private international family law. Some of the most challenging questions have been posed regarding the parental child abduction cases which are subject to the 1980 Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and its EU complementary, the Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 Concerning Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Matrimonial Matters and the Matters of Parental Responsibility. While it is expected that lockdowns or other COVID-19-related measures limiting cross-border movements temporary contribute to lesser number of abduction cases, it is nevertheless important to study the extent to which such restrictions have played a role in the ongoing (and new) abduction cases. Always thorny questions of interpreting the grounds on which the child’s return may be denied, becomes all the more difficult with the threat of the COVID-19 and different measures put in place in different states. Not less important is the ability of the competent authorities, including the central authorities, the courts and the social welfare centres to provide timely responses in these cases. The main purpose of this paper is thus to assess whether and to what extent has the COVID-19 pandemic and the “new normal” affected the operation and practices of the competent authorities in cross-border child abduction cases.

COVID-19, pandemic, child abduction, cross-border, paternal, Hague Convention, Brussels II bis Regulation

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