All abducted children across the EU should sleep tight tonight. The ECJ will make sure that they are returned in a timely fashion to the place where they were habitually resident immediately before their unlawful removal or retention so they will be able to resume their daily life and restore a personal relationship and direct contact with the left-behind parent. Despite such a comforting scenario, this Article argues that the current blind application of the principle of mutual trust in the EU mechanism for the return of the child does not ensure an adequate protection of the best interests of children entangled in return proceedings.
The principle of mutual trust underpins EU proceedings for the return of the child following abduction. On such a basis, the courts of the Member State of refuge shall trust the courts of the Member State where the child was habitually resident immediately before the abduction being willing and capable to protect the EU fundamental rights of the child concerned. Therefore, they should not refrain from enforcing a certified judgment requiring the immediate return of the child, even in situations where there is a clear risk that the return is contrary to that child’s best interests. The purpose of this article is to demonstrate that there is a necessity – in the field of EU proceedings for the return of the child following abduction – to move beyond absolute trust, in order to ensure adequate protection of the children concerned.
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