Law to give extra protection to parental custody

EU legislation coming into force on August 1 will provide greater protection to a parent who has been granted custody of children who are abducted by their former partner or family members.

Family law expert Geoffrey Shannon said the regulations would give an additional safeguard for EU citizens to the Hague Convention, the main international framework for deciding custody cases between states.

Under the 1980 UN convention, custody cases are generally decided by the jurisdiction in which the child is habitually resident.

Mr Shannon, a lecturer at the Law Society of Ireland, said the regulation would provide an “even more robust mechanism” for parents with custodial rights.

It will allow for the decision of a court of an EU member state of habitual residence of the child to take precedence over any ruling by the courts of the country to which he or she has been removed.

It also obliges courts to take into consideration the views of the child with regard to custody, unless it is inappropriate because of their age or maturity.

“It must be acknowledged that a different regime will apply to abduction within member states and outside such states,” said Mr Shannon.

He said this was regrettable as it could undermine mutual trust between countries and reduce co-operation between courts in different jurisdictions.

However, the regulation will not impact on the case of two Cork grandparents who are facing arrest for aggravated kidnapping after recently fleeing the US with their grandchild.

Tim and Ethel Blake of Cobh, Co Cork, brought their nine-year-old grandson, Dylan Benwell, back to Ireland without his mother’s knowledge. The Blakes claim Dylan was having “an awful life” with their daughter, Serena, and his stepfather in Chicago.

Although Mr Shannon declined to comment on the Blake case, he advised all families involved in similar circumstances to “apply, don’t fly”.