February 2023 – Judgment No. 845/2023 of the Athens Court of First Instance – No deviation from the rule of joint exercise of custody of the minor children of the parties, regulation of the father’s communication with them and his obligation to contribute to their maintenance
By judgment No 845/2023, the Athens Court of First Instance ruled on (i) an application by the mother (the opposing party) seeking the award of custody of the parties’ minor children, boys aged 7.5 and 5.5 years, both diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, to her and the obligation of the father (my client) to pay to her on their behalf the monthly sum of 6.522 euros as their maintenance. (ii) on the father’s application to award joint custody of the children to both parents and to regulate his communication with them. The court rejected the mother’s request that she be awarded sole custody of the children on the ground that ‘there is no disagreement between the parents as to the way in which the children are brought up which could lead to problems in the exercise of custody’. It is interesting from a legal point of view that the court also rejected the father’s request to award joint custody to the two of them, since, as it rightly held, this is directly provided for by the law and in fact the party seeking a derogation from the joint custody rule (in this case the mother) would have to prove that such a derogation exists. The judgment also confirms that joint custody is independent of the children’s place of residence (the parties agreed that the children would reside in the former matrimonial home owned by the father, as had been ordered by a temporary order despite the mother’s initial request to the contrary for permission to relocate). Similarly, the court rejected the mother’s claim that the father was unfit to care for the children and that they should not spend the night with him by extensively regulating his communication with them. Notably, the court held that the mother’s allegations of domestic violence by the father against her were outside the scope of the trial. Finally, the court held that the children’s actual needs were estimated at EUR 1 400, of which the father was to cover EUR 1 090 and the mother was to contribute the remaining amount, after accepting the father’s objection to the contribution.
February 2023 - No. FD22P0652 Child Return Order of the Family Division of the High Court of England and Wales - Return of the child to his mother in Greece from England under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction after a year of "hostage-taking" by his father in England