Child Abduction within the European Union: (Studies in Private International Law)

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction I. Structure and Methodology 2. Milestones on the Road to the Separate Child Abduction Regime within the European Union I. October 1999: The Tampere European Council Meeting II. May 2000: Council Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 of 29 May 2000 on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Matrimonial Matters and in Matters of Parental Responsibility for Children of Both Spouses (the Brussels II Regulation) III. July 2000: Initiative of the French Republic with a View to Adopting a Council Regulation on the Mutual Enforcement of Judgments on Rights of Access to Children IV. December 2000: The Draft Programme of Measures for Implementation of the Principle of Mutual Recognition of Decisions in Civil and Commercial Matters V. March 2001: Commission Working Document: Mutual Recognition of Decisions on Parental Responsibility VI. September 2001: The Commission Proposal for a Council Regulation on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Matters of Parental Responsibility VII. October 2001–May 2002: Consultations on the Commission Proposal VIII. May 2002: The Commission Proposal for a Council Regulation Concerning Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Matrimonial Matters and in Matters of Parental Responsibility Repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 and Amending Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 in Matters Relating to Maintenance IX. November 2002: Report of the European Parliament on the Revised Commission Proposal X. November 2002–November 2003: Heated Negotiations XI. The Brussels II bis Regulation XII. Conclusions 3. Principles of Good Legislative Drafting vs Child Abduction Provisions of the Brussels II bis Regulation I. The Principles of Subsidiarity and Proportionality II. The Consultation Policy 4. The Argument of the Misuse of Article 13(1)(b): Myth or Reality? I. The Statistical Analysis of Applications made in 1999 under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction II. Special Commission Meetings to Review the Operation of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction III. Conferences and Judicial Seminars IV. Academic Literature 5. Operation of the Brussels II bis Regulation: Empirical Study I. Background to the Empirical Study II. Scope, Aim and Methodology of the Empirical Study III. Findings of the Empirical Study IV. Conclusions of the Empirical Survey 6. Points of Concern I. More Liberal Interpretation of the Key Concepts of the Convention in Order to Avoid Judicial Refusals Based on Article 13 II. Protection of the Abductor Parent and the Child upon the Return III. Timing IV. Judicial and Administrative Qualities in the 'New' Member States of the European Union 7. Added Value of the Brussels II bis Regulation: A More Child-Centred Approach as a Result of the Obligation to Hear the Child Introduced by Article 11(2) of the Regulation I. EU Jurisdictions: England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Northern Ireland II. Current Approaches Toward the Defence of Child's Objections in Major Non-EU Jurisdictions: Australia, Canada and the United States: Post-2005 Case Law Analysis 8. Conclusions

About the Author :
Katarina Trimmings is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Aberdeen.

Review :
The thesis of Katarina Trimmings stands as a profound study of recent developments on child abduction within the EU; at the same time it explores unchartered territory through the elaboration of questionnaires and statistica data from Central Authorities of many countries -- Dr. Apostolos Anthimos Armenopoulos (Thessaloniki Bar Review) It is not often that an academic book reads as if it were a novel...Both the writing style and the systematic way in which the author addresses the issues grip the reader and make it difficult to put the book down...The book gives an excellent overview of the problem of international child abduction in all its contemporary complexity. It also makes a point about sound and deliberate legislative drafting based on clear research findings...When academics produce this level of work, they indeed deserve to be taken seriously by policy makers. -- Thalia Kruger Edinburgh Law Review ..Katarina Trimmings' book offers a pioneering study on the additions to the Convention for child abductions within the European Union created by Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility (the Brussels II bis Regulation, or: Brussels II bis)... Her recommendations for amendments to the Regulation (chapter 8) are well reasoned and should be taken seriously on the occasion of the next revision of the Regulation. -- Hans van Loon Netherlands International Law Review 2014, issue 1, pp. 128-132 Overall, there is no doubt that this book is a very important contribution to the existing literature, not only specifically in relation to the Brussels II bis Regulation, but also more generally in relation to EU law-making and international child abduction. It should be read by all who have an interest in these fields. -- Rhona Schuz Child and Family Law Quarterly, 2014, 2