Pravni Zapisi (Jan 2018)
International child abductions through the practice of the European court of Human Rights
Abstract
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction does not mention the protection of the right to respect for family life. And despite the fact that the right to respect for family life is not precisely defined, that there is no clear meaning, content, coverage or that its borders are not clearly set up, it exists and is effectively protected even when it comes to cases of 'parental abduction', which is a problem that is very present and current everywhere in the world, even on the European ground. More specifically, the right to respect for family life proclaimed by the European Convention on Human Rights must be protected, when it comes to the 'sensitive' issue of international child abductions. Two aspects of this phenomenon were considered through the practice of the European Court of Human Rights. In one aspect, the protection of the right to respect for family life of a parent whose child had been abducted by the other parent, and, on the other hand, the protection of this right of the abducting parent. Although the key criterion in making a decision about this issue is the best interest of the child, that what is always taken into account is whether the Contracting states has taken all necessary measures according to the circumstances of each case individually in order to carry out its obligation under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, because otherwise it will be responsible for violating the right to respect for family life.
