The article is focused on the most essential issues of the application of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 25 October 1980 (“the Hague Convention”) in the judgements of Ukrainian courts and some methodological aspects of workshop development on the topic.
The Hague Convention recently has been applied more often as an important international act. Moreover, there are at least 3 judgements of the European Court of Human Rights v. Ukraine on the matter (Chabrowski v. Ukraine, no. 61680/10, 17 January 2013; Vilenchik v. Ukraine, no. 21267/14, 3 October 2017, M.R. and D.R. v. Ukraine, no. 63551/13, 22 May 2018). The Court reiterates that in the area of international child abduction, the obligations that Article 8 of the ECHR imposes on the Contracting State must be interpreted, in particular, in the light of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 25 October 1980 which also attaches paramount importance to the best interests of the child.
Therefore such a topic was selected for a workshop to be developed and implemented in the educational process of the National School of Judges of Ukraine (NSJU).
According to the Concept of National Standards of Judicial Training, which was approved by the Science and Methodology Council of the NSJU, and later became a part of the Rules of Procedure of the NSJU, all training courses for judges and candidates are developed taking into consideration three dimensions – so-called 3D (dimension) – which encompass knowledge, skills, and values. Therefore the workshop on the Hague Convention is designed using all 3D, and is aimed to consolidate knowledge and to develop judicial skills in application of the Hague Convention, Article 8 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR) and ECtHR case law as well as to contribute to strengthening of the values of respect for human rights, rule of law, and enforcement of Ukraine’s international obligations.
In order to achieve these goals, there certain tools and techniques that are effective in basic courses on the ECtHR case-law were used. In particular, the use of interactive adult learning methods – mini lectures, filling the analytical framework, video review, express survey etc.
The development of the workshops took place jointly with a scientific research in this field, specifically focused of the new Supreme Court jurisprudence, the best practices and lessons learned. The results of the research has been used for the workshop development with the help of the modern innovative tools.
Key words: Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 (Convention of Abduction), international child abduction, place of ordinary residence, Article 8 of the ECHR, practice of the ECHR, judicial education, methodological support, workshop.
Some Moot Points on the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention
