The High Court has ordered the return to Belgium of a 10-year-old child who was brought to Ireland by his mother in July 2020. The order is subject to a stay so the mother can seek protective orders in Belgium and the parties can address appropriate undertakings before an orderly return.
The judgment, delivered by Ms Justice Bronagh O’Hanlon on 23 July 2021, concerned an application under the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction and EU rules. The parents had joint parental responsibility under orders made by the Court of Padua in 2017 and 2019. Neither disputed that the father had custody rights or was exercising access. The parties accepted Belgium as the child’s habitual residence immediately before the move to Ireland.
The mother said the father had agreed that she and the child could relocate to Ireland after his recovery from a serious accident. She relied on accounts from two witnesses who described conversations about the move. The father denied agreeing and pointed to a letter from his solicitor dated 25 June 2020 objecting to the child’s removal. The judge found there was no clear, unequivocal consent and that the child had been wrongfully removed and retained in Ireland.
The court also rejected the mother’s defence of acquiescence. The father began return proceedings in February 2021, seven months after the move. The judge found that his complaints and applications during that period, and his opposition to registering the child at an Irish school, did not show that he had accepted the move or abandoned his right to seek a summary return.
The mother alleged past violence by the father, including an incident in Italy in 2014 that she said left her with serious facial injuries and led to an ongoing criminal case. The judge said the allegations were serious and must be given great weight, but found the Convention threshold for grave risk was not met because the risks could be managed through protective orders and undertakings. The court said disputed questions about the parents’ conduct should be resolved in Belgium.
A report and evidence from Dr Colm O’Connor recorded the child’s strong preference to remain in Ireland. The judge accepted that he was mature enough for his views to be considered, but distinguished that preference from a legal objection to return. She found that he did not object to returning to Belgium if his mother accompanied him. The judgment said the mother was likely to return with him and his half-sister.
The return order was stayed pending more precise information about when the Belgian courts could address protective issues and a hearing on suitable undertakings. The judgment did not set a return date.