The High Court has refused a father’s application to have his two sons returned from Poland to Ireland, finding that their best interests now require them to remain where they have lived since 2016. The court said it would make a final order refusing the relief sought; it did not grant custody to the father or direct the boys’ return. The precise form of the orders remained to be heard.
The case was an Article 11 review under the EU’s Brussels IIa Regulation, following a Polish non-return order. The boys, identified in the judgment as J and K, had been taken to Poland for a Christmas visit after an Irish District Court refused their mother’s application to relocate. They were not brought back. Polish courts initially ordered their return, but after further proceedings the Polish Circuit Court upheld a grave-risk defence and made a non-return order.
Ms Justice Mary Rose Gearty said the Irish court’s task was to assess the boys’ current welfare, not to review or overturn the Polish courts’ process. She noted concerns about the reasoning in the later Polish judgment, including references to allegations that had not been established in earlier proceedings. But she said the evidence did not allow her to find that the Polish decision was politically directed or made without judicial independence. She declined to refer questions to the EU Court of Justice.
The judge said the boys had spent more than seven years in Poland, where their maternal family, schools, doctors and friends were based. They spoke only Polish and expressed fear of their father and opposition to contact. An Irish expert assessor’s report raised concerns that their views may have been influenced by their mother and that parental alienation may have occurred. The judge described the damage to the father-son relationship as significant.
The court did not find credible evidence of violence against the children. It said allegations of violence against the father lacked independent support in the proceedings, but also made clear it could not find as a fact that the allegations were fabricated. The judge said the expert report could be relied on with the caveat that the evidence did not support a finding of physical violence in the home.
The mother had accepted that indirect contact should resume. The judge said future contact should be facilitated through an independent therapist or other third party, and that the mother should actively encourage the relationship. She declined to adjourn the case for further negotiations, saying the Polish courts were now best placed to address the matter. The parties were to be heard on how the father could apply in Poland for indirect contact.