«Ребенка украли!». Как супруги воруют своих детей, сами о том не подозревая (!?)

A citizen of the Republic of Belarus took her children from her husband in Sweden and took them to her native country. A Swedish court found her guilty of child abduction. Now she is pursued in accordance with the legislation of the European Union.

It is time to become reliable and responsible parents who do not plunge children into international conflicts.

Any citizen of our country who is married to a foreigner could find him- or herself in a similar situation. AiF examines the situation together with lawyers.

The media had recently covered cases when Belarusian mothers fought for their children, who were taken abroad by their fathers or kept there, preventing communication with the children. Such cases evoked natural sympathy from readers. They wanted those moms to reunite with their babies. Meanwhile, few people think about reverse situations, when our compatriots – fathers and mothers – could become abductors.

Here is a real story that was so romantic in the beginning. A Belarusian woman met a Swedish citizen and moved in with him. The couple had two charming daughters adored by both the father and the mother. The “Swedish fairy tale” ended one April day when the Belarusian took two girls (6 and 3 years old) from the kindergarten not home but directly to the airport. The day, which started for them with breakfast in their native Stockholm, ended with dinner in an unfamiliar Minsk.

The next morning in Stockholm, the father filed a police report on the abduction of the children. He could not imagine where his family had gone. Then there was the court hearing, during which the unauthorized actions of the mother, who had snatched the children from the place where they had been born and grown up, were considered as an abduction. The court ruled to return the children to Sweden immediately and to grant the father the right to be the sole guardian.

Then there was invoked the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 1980, which our country joined more than 20 years ago. The case moved to Belarus, and the 1.5-year consideration of the application for the return of the children, filed by the father, ended with the decision of the appellate court, which denied the father the return of the daughters to Sweden.

Attorney  Ms. Yelena MASHONSKAYA

“In reality, nothing ended because on that April day at the Swedish airport, there was planted a long-term mine, which was not neutralized by the decision of the Belarusian court,” says Yelena MASHONSKAYA, partner of the Arzinger law firm. “The father of the children in Sweden is determined to return his only and beloved daughters to their homeland. The mother in Belarus sues for alimony and hopes to recover it, still not understanding the legal consequences of the children’s abduction. But after all, in the modern world, it is difficult to disregard the norms of international law, especially when they have priority over national laws”.

According to the expert, the decision of the Swedish court entered into force much earlier than the ruling was made in Belarus, and it is valid in many countries, including the EU countries.

“This means that within the jurisdiction where the Swedish decision is valid, the “abductor mother” is pursued in accordance with the legislation”, continues Yelena Mashonskaya. “And it is unlikely that it will be possible to collect alimony for the children in Sweden. Although Belarus has joined the Convention on Child Support, it is not difficult to foresee the answer to the question of whether the country will recognize a foreign decision that contradicts its own”.

When is it an abduction?

In their denying the return of the children, the Belarusian courts are guided by the fact that they are citizens of our country.

Attorney Mr. Aleksandr KORSAK

“Yes, in Belarus, children born in marriages where one of the parents is a citizen of the Republic of Belarus are also citizens of our country. But in Sweden, they are subjects of the Kingdom of Sweden. It is necessary to understand an important rule: in international family law, the citizenship of parents and children does not matter. There is no priority for citizens of one country over citizens of another. The place of the permanent residence of the child is what matters. And this is right because parents have jointly decided on the fate of their children and which country to choose as the place of their permanent residence. Changing this decision without the consent of the other parent is what international law calls an abduction,” says Aleksandr KORSAK, managing partner of the Arzinger law firm.

The application for the return of the child is subject to consideration on formal grounds, without consideration of the case based on the merits. In those cases when it is established that the child is illegally transferred from the place of his or her permanent residence, especially if the return mechanism is launched within one year from the moment of the illegal transfer (retention) of the child, he or she should be promptly returned to his or her place of permanent residence.

“Another, no less usual case: the Belarusian mother took the child away from Finland, the place where the child had been born and grown up. After repeated attempts to arrange everything peacefully, the worried father was forced to seek the protection of his parental rights in a Belarusian court. However, despite the existence of a valid international agreement (the previously mentioned Convention of 1980), the court refused to apply its norms because the child is Belarusian, and the applicable law must be Belarusian. ”After the joint efforts of the lawyers and government authorities, the courts started to take into account the country’s international obligations but did not fully comply with their provisions. As a result, the verdict was the same, i.e., the child should live with the mother. At the same time, the concerned father is completely deprived of the opportunity to see his daughter – the mother does not show him the child even in the presence of the police.

Without violating the law

One can remain within the legal boundaries only if the transfer (retention) is legal, i.e. if the other parent gives his or her consent. The Convention also specifies some exceptions, including the establishment of circumstances by the court, which confirms that upon their return, children may suffer mental or physical violence (abuse, intimidation, the threat of “leaving”).

“The most important thing, in our opinion, is to learn to understand and respect the law, to change the obsolete ideas about parenthood,” says Aleksandr Korsak. 

“It is time to become reliable and responsible parents who do not plunge children into interpersonal international conflicts with unpredictable legal and psychological consequences”.

It is time to improve the legal culture of moms and dads, which means not only learning the right words but showing actual respect for each other’s parental rights and making grounded adult decisions for the sake of the peace of their children”.

Experts recommend consulting with specialists when entering into a marriage with a foreigner and taking care of drawing up a prenuptial agreement, providing different options for the legal solution of possible problems, including those involving children.

“In our legal practice, there was one time when we had to examine a multipage prenuptial agreement prepared by American lawyers. The Belarusian bride approached the conclusion of a marriage with the US citizen maturely and carefully, so no matter what happens next, she is aware of the legal consequences of her actions and decisions”.

“After all, love is not just hormones, but primarily the responsibility for those you have tamed”.

Source:
RU https://aif.by/social/rebenka_ukrali_kak_suprugi_voruyut_svoih_detey_sami_o_tom_ne_podozrevaya