The Relationship between BIIR and the Hague Convention: Deticek v Sgueglia

Case C-403/09 PPU of 23 December 2009 concerns a reference for a preliminary ruling on Art 20 of Regulation No 2201/2003 (the Regulation). The Regulation seeks to ensure that orders made in one Member State, relating to matrimonial matters and matters of parental responsibility, are recognised and enforced in the other Member States. The Regulation also seeks to deter the unlawful removal or retention of children and supplements the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Child Abduction. In order for these objectives to be fulfilled it is important that all orders are enforced as soon as is practical. If States fail to do this then they risk violating their obligations under the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms 1950 (the European Convention).