Decision of the Athens Court of First Instance No 2836/2024 – Dissolution of marriage of a Greek citizen with an opposing party resident in the United Kingdom – Dissolution of the marriage due to wrongful retention of the child in England.
By its decision No 2936/2024, the Athens Court of First Instance (Family Disputes Division) declared the dissolution of the marriage, which had been contracted in England, between the client of the office, a Greek citizen, and the opposing party, a resident of the United Kingdom. The Court, taking into account that prior to the dissolution of the marriage the couple had been resident in Greece, held that it had jurisdiction to hear the dispute as the court of the country of the spouses’ last habitual residence under Regulation (EC) 2019/1111. Further, the Court held that the notification of the proceedings to the opposing party, which was made directly to her by a bailiff in England and in accordance with English law under the relevant option of the Hague Convention of 15 November 1965, was valid.
On the merits of the case: the Court accepted that the unilateral retention of their daughter by the respondent in England without the father’s consent and her abandonment of the family home, together with the cancellation campaign launched by the respondent against the plaintiff and his family on social media, irreparably shook the marital partnership and justified the dissolution of the marriage.
