Case number and/or case name
OLG Hamburg, 25.6.2014 – 12 UF 111/13
Details of the court
Germany, Second Instance
Articles referred to by the court
Date of the judgement
24 June 2014
CJEU's case law cited by the court
Summary
The German first instance court ordered that the father should return the children from Germany back to Canada. The second instance court was charged with the question whether the decision should be enforced. The court denied the enforcement as it would violate the child’s welfare. It applied Art 13 (1) (b) Hague Convention on Child Abduction and stated that this rule could be restricted by Art 11 (4) Brussels IIa. The court held that the enforcement could not be performed as the requirements of Art 13 Convention on Child Abduction were given. It particularly referred to the fact that the children were firmly integrated in Germany and that the children clearly had expressed their will not to return to Canada.
The child’s welfare was – according to the court – to be taken into account in any stage of the proceedings, even within the enforcement proceedings after a decision that ordered the return of the child.