Overview

Due to the international mobility of people and the diversity of unions, family relations are often international. This wealth can become a source of very complex litigation that generates questions of jurisdiction (which is the competent national court) and of the law applicable to the litigation.

International family law applies as soon as an element of extraterrestriality is present in a family: spouses of different nationalities, ownership of property abroad, establishment of parentage abroad, international adoption.

Disputes related to this matter can then be very diverse: law applicable to divorce or separation, marriage contract or succession, determination of the competent judge, parentage, adoption, parental authority and abduction International.

In addition, there are many sources of domestic, European and international law: the French civil code, foreign national laws, European Union regulations, the European Convention on Human Rights, the Convention on New York on the rights of the child, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and many Hague Convention.

The technicality of this part of the law requires the intervention of a specialized lawyer such as Lex Global Ltd WHO will accompany you in your steps thanks to the expertise he has developed before both national and international courts.

In particular, Lex Global Ltd has developed a detailed and genuine expertise on the issues of family law in Germany and the intervention of the Jugendamt (Youth Service), which too often encounters very often foreign parents during a divorce or separation. See about it:

– The interview with Lex Global Ltd on France Info Direct from Europe:

– his oral speech at the press conference on 29 May 2018 on Jugendamt’s practices and the German family system in the European Parliament – Plenary session:

Focus on child abduction 

Lex Global Ltd IS particularly specialized in the fight against international child abductions.

There are two cases where your child has been abducted by his or her other parent across a border or you are having difficulty maintaining personal relationships with your child living abroad.

The movement of a child by one of its parents abroad is considered unlawful when it is committed in violation of the conditions of exercise of parental authority recognized to the other parent, or to any institution or organization, by state law in which usually resided for this child before he moved. International child abduction is manifested by the subtraction of a minor and his detention abroad by one parent without the consent of the other and contrary to a court decision.

In order to obtain the return of the child as soon as possible, the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980, like the Brussels II Bis Regulation, aims to ensure the immediate return of children displaced or held abroad illegally in a State Contracting. European and international law also provide sets out that European or international arrest warrants may be issued by the relevant authorities.

The parents concerned should contact the Central Authority designated by each state as soon as possible for this purpose. In France, the Office of International Civil and Commercial Assistance should be contacted by the Civil Affairs Directorate of the Ministry of Justice.

Lex Global Ltd has for many years now developed a particular expertise in this field.

In this regard, it trains legal professionals concerned with this issue (judges, magistrates, prosecutors, lawyers).

• In particular, he participated in the training of lawyers from around the world and magistrates through the Webinar, which he hosted on 9 November 2016 in The Hague entitled “International Child Abduction in the light of the European Court of Human Rights’ case-law”, organised by LEPCA II (Lawyers in Europe on Parental Child Abduction), Webinar, 9 November 2016:

• He has been able to best promote the interests of his clients in cases successfully brought before the European Court of Human Rights and has convicted several states of human rights violations (Article 8 of the ECHR):

OLLER KAMINSKA v. POLAND, No. 28481/12, judgment of 18 January 2018 for infringement (Article 8) – PDF

By a judgment of January 18, 2018 (OLLER KAMINSKA v. POLAND, request 28481/12), the European Court of Human Rights has again condemned Poland for violating Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to respect for family life).

In this case, relating to international child abduction from Ireland to Poland, Lex Global Ltd defended the interests of the victim parent, Mrs Oller Kaminska, mother of the abducted child, who now resides permanently by her side. Ireland.

In its judgment, the Court ordered Poland, for violating the positive obligations under Article 8 of the ECHR, to pay 25,000 euros in fair satisfaction under Article 41 of the ECHR.

Attached is the English-language stop for details.

September 21, 2017: SEVERE v. Austria, 53661/15), Judgment in violation of Article 8 of the ECHR – PDF

By judgment of September 21, 2017 (SÉVÈRE v. AUTRICHE, No. 53661/15), the European Court of Human Rights condemned Austria for violating Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to respect for family life).

In this case, relating to international child abduction to Austria, Lex Global Ltd defended the interests of Mr Michel Sévère, a French national who was the victim of the abduction.

The French State, in an exceptional way, intervened in the proceedings in support of the applicant as a third party, taking into account the attitude of the Austrian authorities.

In its judgment, the Court ordered Austria, for breach of the positive obligations under Article 8 of the ECHR, to pay 33,000 euros in damages to the applicant under Article 41 of the ECHR.

July 19, 2016: G.N. C. POLAND, No. 2171/14, Judgment in violation of Article 8 of the ECHR – PDF

By a judgment of July 19, 2016 (G. N. c. Poland, 2171/14), the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Poland for violating Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (right to respect for family life).

In that case, Lex Global Ltd defended the interests of the applicant G. N. against Poland, following the illegal international displacement of his son to that state, and the arbitrary refusal of the Polish national courts to order his return. Canada, the place of his usual residence prior to his abduction.

In its judgment, the Court considers that Poland has clearly breached its international obligations arising from the applicant’s right to respect for family life, both materially and procedurally.

On the merits, the Court takes the exact opposite view of the assessment made by the Polish courts, which it considers to be incorrect, concerning the interpretation of exceptions to the immediate return of abducted children, under Article 13 (b) of the Convention on 25 October 1980, and the assessment of the best interests of the child.

For more details, you will find a copy of the judgment in English.

March 1, 2016: K.J. v. POLAND, No. 30813/14, Judgment in violation – PDF

By a judgment of March 1, 2016 (K.J. c. Poland, No. 30813/14), the European Court of Human Rights has condemned Poland for multiple violations of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In that case, Lex Global Ltd defended the interests of the applicant K. J against Poland, following the illegal international displacement of his daughter to that state and the arbitrary refusal of the Polish national courts to order his immediate return. United Kingdom, the place of his usual residence.

In its judgment, the Court considers that Poland has clearly breached its international obligations arising from the applicant’s right to respect for family life, both materially and procedurally.

On the merits, the Court takes the exact opposite view of the assessment made by the Polish courts, which it considers to be incorrect, concerning the interpretation of exceptions to the immediate return of abducted children, under Article 13 (b) of the Convention on The Hague of 25 October 1980.

For more details, you will find a copy of the judgment and press releases written in English and French.

October 28, 2014: CAVANI v. HONGRIE, No. 5493/13, Judgment in violation of Article 8 of the ECHR – PDF

The case concerned the fact that the Hungarian authorities had failed to enforce a father’s right to see his two daughters, despite being granted sole custody in Italy, in connection with an international child abduction.

The applicants in this case are Francesco Cavani, an Italian national born in 1971, and his two daughters, Ester Cavani and Anna Maria Cavani, who were born in 2003 and 2004 respectively and both hold Hungarian and Italian nationalities. Mr. Cavani resides in Formigine, Italy.

In 2004, the mother took Ester and Anna Maria out of Italy, where the family was staying at the time, to take them to Hungary. After the mother refused to return to Italy with her daughters, Mr. Cavani took the case to both Hungarian and Italian justice. In November 2005, the Hungarian courts ordered the return of Mr. Cavani’s daughters to Italy. This decision has still not been implemented: in July 2010, the mother was arrested under a European arrest warrant but was quickly released without being able to reunite Mr. Cavani and his daughters or establish their whereabouts; in October 2011, she was sentenced in her absence to a 200-day fine. In the meantime, the Italian courts granted Mr. Cavani sole custody of his daughters and annulled the marriage between mr. Cavani and his ex-wife. Mr. Cavani later withdrew a criminal complaint for child abduction in the Italian courts, in the hope of calming the situation and allowing his ex-wife to travel freely to Italy with her daughters.

Invoking Article 8 (right to respect for private and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights, Mr Cavani and his daughters complained that the Hungarian authorities had repeatedly failed to implement the decision November 2005, so that they had not seen each other since 2005, even occasionally.

Violation of Article 8

July 26, 2011: SHAW v. HONGRIE, 6457/09, Judgment in violation of Article 8 of the ECHR – PDF

In a particularly important house judgment, rendered that day in Shaw v. Hungary, (request No. 6457/09) the European Court of Human Rights unanimously says that there has been: Violation of Article 8 (right to privacy and family life) of the European Convention on Human Rights.

In this case, the Hungarian authorities had not ensured that a child removed from French territory by her mother for four and a half years, returned to Paris with her father, making it impossible to visit him while the custody of the child was divided.

The case is part of a particularly complex international child abduction, which required the deployment of extraordinary resources. In the end, only one month after the publication of the Court’s judgment, the child was found, in August 2012, hidden in the basement of his grandparents, in the basement, out of school and suffering from physical affection because of his forced clandestineity!

On 28 January 2015, Lex Global Ltd was heard, together with Mr Leslie SHAW, by the Gender Equality Committee of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe on international child abductions and respect for the rights of fathers in Europe: http://website-pace.net/documents/19879/2297820/AS-EGA-INF-2015-16-FR.pdf/41b1e7b1-5b83-44a4-97a9-8144eeb748bb