Pleased to share a successful result obtained before the Bucharest Court of Appeal in an international child abduction / international child custody dispute under the Hague Conference on Private International Law Hague Convention framework and Romanian Law no. 369/2004.
Representing the left-behind parent in the appeal proceedings, we successfully overturned a first instance judgment which had refused the return of the children after relying primarily on the children’s objections and the opinion expressed by a psychologist present during the hearing. The appellate court found that the hearing of the minors had been conducted in violation of Article 10 of Law no. 369/2004 and that excessive weight had been given to the conclusions of a psychologist who did not have a complete understanding of the family situation and cross-border parental conflict.
The Court ordered a new hearing of the children and accepted the arguments advanced on behalf of the applicant parent concerning parental alienation, parental manipulation, coercive influence, and the distortion of the children’s views during the wrongful retention proceedings. Multiple expert reports and specialist evaluations submitted in the case confirmed that the children required a structured period of separation from the influencing parent in order to rebuild and normalize the relationship with the father.
The appeal was allowed and the international child return application was granted.
This decision is particularly relevant for practitioners and parents involved in: international child abduction cases, Hague Convention return proceedings, wrongful removal and wrongful retention disputes, cross-border custody litigation, parental alienation claims, child relocation disputes, enforcement of foreign custody rights, and cases involving manipulation of children in international family law proceedings.
The judgment further confirms that courts must carefully assess whether a child’s objection is genuinely independent or the result of influence exerted by one parent, and that psychological evidence in Hague Convention proceedings must be examined critically, especially where there are indicators of parental alienation or emotional dependency dynamics.
Our legal practice regularly advises and represents parents in international child abduction cases, Hague Convention return proceedings, cross-border custody disputes, parental alienation matters, wrongful removal and wrongful retention cases, emergency child return applications, and enforcement of foreign custody rights before Romanian courts. We assist both left-behind parents and foreign clients involved in proceedings before Romanian courts concerning the international relocation or retention of children.
For legal assistance in international child abduction and Hague Convention proceedings in Romania, feel free to write to us at amalexandru@outlook.com or at office@alexandru-lawoffice.ro
Ana-Maria Alexandru
