By its decision, the Athens Court of First Instance (Special Family Dispute Procedure) finally settled, bringing a happy ending to the legal “odyssey” of our client, which began with the abduction of the child by his mother to England. Working initially with the London-based law firm Dawson Cornwell LLP, we achieved the immediate return of the child to Greece, which was his country of previous habitual residence, based on the 1980 Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. From there, we succeeded in obtaining temporary orders and then, through a decision on protective measures, in securing the child’s residence in Greece and regulating, on the one hand, his custody, so that the father could make decisions about the child without being hindered by the mother’s abusive behavior, and the mother’s right to communicate with the child in Greece in order to avoid the risk of him being abducted abroad again.

In its recent decision, the Athens Court of First Instance ruled, at the level of final judicial protection as the competent family court, that it was in the best interests of the minor child to continue to reside in Greece with his father, who will have sole custody, even for serious educational matters, which, according to the Civil Code, are decided jointly by both parents. Similarly, it was determined that the mother’s communication with the child outside Greece could only take place with the father’s consent and again only in the presence of a third party and without the right to stay overnight at her residence abroad.

This decision serves as a reminder that child abduction does not come without “consequences” for the abducting parent. Of course, the family court does not operate in a “punitive” manner and the outcome of the custody proceedings initiated in the country from which the child was removed and is now returning is not predetermined. However, 1. abduction remains an act that indicates the parent’s lack of intention to respect the rights of the other parent and to maintain the child’s relationship with them, which of course also affects their ability to cooperate in the context of joint custody, 2. it cannot be ignored when regulating the parent’s right of access to the child in the future.

What remains crucial in child abduction cases is immediate action on the part of the parent left behind and proper coordination between the proceedings opened in parallel in the country of abduction and the country of the child’s habitual residence.