If your child is abducted by another parent from the Czech Republic to a foreign country, you can contact the Office for International Child Protection.
The Office acts as the requesting central authority in accordance with EU legislation and the Hague Abduction Convention and sends a request for the return of the child to the requested central authority in the country where the child has been unlawfully removed or detained.
The parent from whom the child has been abducted (detained) may seek the return of the child through the authority or may independently apply directly to the court of the State where the child has been abducted for return.
The return of the child to the State of the child's habitual residence is always decided by the State where the child was abducted. If, for example, a parent unlawfully moves with a child from the Czech Republic to Germany, the German court will decide on the return. In the case of return to the Czech Republic, it must therefore be assumed that the court proceedings will be conducted abroad.
We recommend that you first contact our office for a consultation on the specific case and only then secure the documents necessary to initiate the return proceedings.
Activities of the Office for International Child Protection in the return of a child from abroad to the Czech Republic:
- Individually or in cooperation with a member of the Office, the applicant fills in the necessary forms.
- In the first step, the applicant files an application with the Office, and in the first step, the applicant files the application with the Office. In the first step, the Office employee assists in completing the application, including the necessary translations.
- The application for return is immediately sent to the foreign partner authority. Once the application has been received, the foreign courts may not decide on the modification of the child's custody.
- We usually find out from the foreign partner authority whether the child is present with the other parent in the territory of this state, which court the application for return of the child should be filed with, what are the possibilities of free legal aid (legal representation in the return proceedings), what are the possibilities of out-of-court settlement of the situation.
- Often, the foreign partner authority can take administrative steps to prevent the parent (abductor) from moving on with the child.
- The authority guides both parents to an amicable solution.
The quality of cooperation and the possibility of securing the child's return varies significantly from country to country.
The Office cannot provide the following services in return proceedings:
- personal representation of the applicant in return proceedings abroad
- identifying the legal regulation of return proceedings in the foreign legal system
- covering the costs of return proceedings
When is it generally not possible to secure the return of a child?
- if the applicant for return has not exercised the right of custody of the child or has accepted the removal
- if a period of more than one year has elapsed since the relocation
- if the child is at risk of physical or mental harm from the return
- if the child does not consent to the return (if they have reached a reasonable age and level of maturity)
How can a court abroad decide on a return?
The foreign court will end the return proceedings with a judgment returning the child to the place of habitual residence (not returning the parent, the "abductor") or dismissing the return application.
The length of the proceedings, the possibilities to appeal against the (non-)return decision and the suspensive effect of the appeal may vary in each Contracting State.
