Publication
Title
Understanding the Best Interests of the Child in EU Child Abduction Proceedings: perspectives from the case law
Author
Abstract
In cases of international child abduction, human rights law and private international law are in constant interaction. Private international law seeks to prevent and discourage international child abduction, hence its prioritization of the immediate return of the child whenever an abduction takes place. Children’s rights law, as part of human rights law, emphasizes that the best interests of the child must be a primary consideration in all matters affecting the child. At the same time, the principle of the child’s best interests has acquired importance within the application of the Hague Convention of 1980 and of the Brussels II-bis Regulation. This paper draws on the empirical data obtained during the VOICE project, which analyzed over one thousand European cases on international child abduction, with the aim of understanding if and how judges across Europe give substance to the notion of the child’s best interests in their case law. The analysis shows that judges do not always see the immediate return of an abducted child necessarily in his or her best interests. Instead, national courts use the principle of the child’s best interests in a multi-faceted way, which leads to many different outcomes in the application of international legal instruments in child abduction cases.
Language
English
Source (journal)
Diritti umani e diritto internazionale
Publication
2020
DOI
10.12829/97958
Volume/pages
14 :2 (2020) , p. 337-363
Full text (Publisher's DOI)
Full text (publisher's version - intranet only)
UAntwerpen
Faculty/Department
Research group
Project info
BECAREFUL: BEst interests interpretation in Child Abduction cases: an exploration into REsolving Fragmentation Under different international Legal regimes.
Publication type
Subject
Law 
Affiliation
Publications with a UAntwerp address
External links
VABB-SHW
Record
Identifier
Creation 02.09.2020
Last edited 10.06.2022
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