CERTAIN ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION

Abstract

The article is devoted to the problem of abduction of children by parents due to conflicts in marriage, divorce or while waiting for a court decision on guardianship. The authors of the article note that the rights, freedoms and interests of the child should be prioritized and should not be violated by parents in the process of fulfilling parental duties. The article analyzes national and international legal norms that are supposed to protect children's rights and prevent child abduction. The authors focused attention on the problematic issues of legal regulation of the return of abducted children to the country of their permanent residence, among which the authors single out: the absence of normatively established terms "international child abduction", "permanent residence", "best interests of the child", as well as different approaches to interpretation countries of the norms of international private law that regulate the grounds and procedure for the return of abducted children. The authors noted the problems of law enforcement of the norms of international private law and national legislation by the jurisdictional bodies entrusted with the duty of issuing a decision on the return of the child. Among other obstacles, the authors single out: the difficulty of establishing the fact of abduction, the refusal of the country in which the child is to return to the place of permanent residence or the delay in the process of such return. As part of the research, the practice of the European Court of Human Rights in cases related to the return of an abducted child was analyzed. In addition, the authors made an attempt to investigate and establish the problems of qualification of child abduction under national criminal law. The Criminal Code of Ukraine provides for responsibility for kidnapping, however, the subject of such a crime cannot be one of the child's parents, given the equal rights of each of them to participate in the upbringing of the child, provided for by the law.