Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction: Issues Raised by the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic that has spread the whole world and the restrictive measures taken to combat it have had an unprecedented impact on all aspects of modern society, including cross-border family relations, and, in particular, situations of international child abduction. 

One of the most difficult question is the possibility of justifying the refusal to return a child taken to the territory of another country by one parent without the consent of the other, referring to the existence of a grave risk to his life and health (In the context of subparagraph “b”, paragraph 1 of Article 13 of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction) — the treat of his infliction with a new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic in the process of his return to the country of habitual residence or a complex epidemiological situation in this country.

In this regard, the author tries to answer this question, taking into account the official interpretation of the provisions of the Convention, as well as judicial acts issued by courts of various states. Based on the analysis, the author comes to the conclusion that it is impossible to justify the refusal to return the child by referring to the COVID-19 pandemic.