{"id":705,"date":"2015-01-16T21:52:39","date_gmt":"2015-01-16T17:52:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/dev3.smartproductionllc.com\/?p=705"},"modified":"2018-03-01T22:13:28","modified_gmt":"2018-03-01T18:13:28","slug":"international-child-abduction-practice-in-armenia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.armenianlaw.com\/en\/international-child-abduction-practice-in-armenia\/","title":{"rendered":"International Child Abduction: Practice in the Republic of Armenia"},"content":{"rendered":"

With an increased number of international marriages between different citizens, lots of spouses may face specific problems affecting their family rights. As is known, the divorce\u00a0may lead to irreconcilable contradictions between the spouses on\u00a0different grounds. One of the main grounds may be the determination of where and with whom their child(ren) will live. Those conditions are determined by a court decree or mutual agreement of parents. But often times as a result of one of the spouses living outside of Republic of Armenia, a dispute on\u00a0where their child(ren) should grow up arises.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the article 6 (six) of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia, if a ratified international treaty stipulates norms other than those stipulated in the laws of RA, the norms of the treaty shall prevail. At the present time, many international acts have been adopted regulating legal status of children. The Republic of Armenia signed on to most of them.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u2018The Minsk Convention on Legal Aids and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases\u2019 was adopted in 1993 for simplifying the regulation of such questions among the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) member-countries and it was also ratified by the Republic of Armenia. It provides a legal basis to determine the law of which country may be applied in establishing the rights of custody of children. Rights and obligations of parents and children are determined by the legislation of Contracting Party on whose territory they have joint permanent residence. In case of absence of joint permanent residence of parents and children, their mutual rights and obligations are determined by the legislation of Contracting Party, the citizenship of which the child holds. Establishment and cancellation of trustees and guardianship are done according to the legislation of Contracting Party, the citizenship of which the child holds.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Convention on the Rights of the Child of 1989 secured the recognition of the rights of children. The child has a right to communicate with his\/her parents. The states take measures to combat the illicit transfer and non-return of children abroad and also recognize the inadmissibility of separation of children and their parents, except in cases provided by the legislation.\u00a0This is not accidental. Today the cases of children abducted from the place of the permanent residence and transferred to other countries, by one of the spouses are happening often enough. And often wishing to satisfy own personal desires and interests, the abductor loses sight of the fact that the abduction primarily harms the child, not to mention the fact that it\u2019s simply illegal.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to the legislation of the Republic of Armenia every child has a right to communicate with his\/her parents, and given the fact that the development of child\u2019s mind takes place at such an early age, abduction may have semi-permanent or indeed permanent negative impact on child\u2019s overall development, complicate relations with his\/her parents in present and in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Ratified by the Republic of Armenia, The Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is specifically aimed at dealing with this phenomenon. It stipulates that if a child has been wrongfully removed or retained, at the date of the commencement of the proceedings before the judicial or administrative authority of the Contracting State where the child is, and a period of less than one year has elapsed from the date of the wrongful removal or retention, the authority concerned shall order the return of the child forthwith to the place of child\u2019s permanent residence.\u00a0Please note that the Convention does not regulate the matters concerning the determination of the place of child\u2019s residence or matters pertaining to parental custody. On these grounds, the court may decide to return the concerned child to the place of his\/her usual permanent residence.<\/span><\/p>\n

How returning a child is carried out?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Should you find your child abducted by your former spouse, at first instance you will need to find out to which country he\/she has been removed to. You may get help from Central Criminal Authorities designed to facilitate the returning of an abducted child and control an observation of the Convention (above). The functions of those Authorities is carried out by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia. In other countries, this can be allocated\/carried out to\/by other authorities.\u00a0You can submit an application to the Ministry of Justice of RA. The application must include the information about the child, date of his\/her birth, information about the applicant and the abductor. The applicant must justify his\/her request about the returning of the child and specify all available information about his\/her possible location.<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, at the discretion of the applicant, the Authorities may include any agreement between the parties, the court decision(s) and other documents within the case.\u00a0And only after this process has been satisfied, the Central Authority will take all the necessary steps to make contact with the abductor to try to arrange a voluntary return of the child to the place of his\/her usual permanent residence.<\/span><\/p>\n

In case of failed negotiations, you should think about protecting your child\u2019s legal rights in a court trial. First, it is necessary to make a claim and submit it to the court of child\u2019s current location demanding the return of the child to the place of his\/her usual permanent residence. This action can also be initiated by the Central Authority of the country where the child currently is. This is done with close cooperation with the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In order to not burden yourself with unnecessarily stress, by execution of the legal side of the case, filing and filling the correct paperwork, payment of appropriate fees – you can confidently ask for help from \u2018Vardan Khechyan LLC\u2019. We will help you to solve all the problems effectively, confidentially and in shortest terms possible, using our extensive experience in such difficult and emotive cases.<\/span><\/p>\n

What could be the decision of the court?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Having considered your case, the court can sustain a claim about the return of the child to the place of his\/her usual permanent residence, if the removal or retention is recognized illegal, i.e.:<\/span><\/p>\n