VAIKO GRĄŽINIMO IŠIMČIŲ TAIKYMAS PAGAL 1980 M. HAGOS KONVENCIJĄ LIETUVOS TEISMŲ PRAKTIKOJE

Abstract

The article analyses the application of the exceptions to the return of the child to the State of origin under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. In the first part of the article, the authors analyse the child’s adaptation to a new environment as one of the exceptions to the return of the child to the State of origin. The article supports the interpretations in case law that the one-year time limit in the Convention is not absolute, but must be interpreted in conjunction with the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights and in the best interests of the child. The second and third paragraphs of the article deal with the exceptions to the return of the child provided for in Article 13 of the Hague Convention, namely (1) where the parent has not exercised custody rights, objected or consented to the removal of the child; (2) where there is a serious risk of harm from the return of the child. The authors note that the court’s activity in this category of cases must not overshadow the normal burden of proof, and that the courts must give adequate reasons for their decisions on the application of exceptions. Finally, the last exception to return is analyzed, i.e. when the child objects to return and has reached an age and maturity where it is appropriate to take his or her views into account.
Keywords: international child abduction, child abduction, wrongful removal, wrongful retention, grave risk, opinion of the child, exceptions to the return of a child