Judgment concerning Greece
In the case M.P. and Others v. Greece the Court held that there had been a violation of the right to respect for private and family life.
The case concerned a mother and her two children, who complained of the return of the two children to their father in the United States by order of the Greek courts in international child abduction proceedings.
The Court found that the Greek courts had assessed the situation without considering whether it would be appropriate to ascertain the children’s views, which were, after all, a key consideration. As a result, it found that the Greek courts had not been able to make an informed assessment as to whether there had existed a “grave risk” to the children within the meaning of the Hague Convention. The forcible return of the two children to the United States could not, therefore, be regarded as necessary in a democratic society.
This is the first case concerning child abduction proceedings in which the Court has held that the national courts are required to examine of their own motion whether it would be appropriate to hear the child, either directly or otherwise, in order, if necessary, to rule out that possibility in a reasoned decision.