Deputy Minister Zuzanna Rudzińska-Bluszcz met with representatives of diplomatic missions
28.02.2024
"We are united by the well-being of children, so we should cooperate on introducing systemic changes in international family disputes," said Deputy Minister Zuzanna Rudzińska-Bluszcz during today's (February 28) meeting with representatives of diplomatic missions. The meeting was devoted to cross-border family proceedings. The Minister stressed that the talks organized at the Ministry of Justice show the Ministry's openness to cooperation with its counterparts in other countries.
"Thank you for organizing the meeting and constructive talks on such an important issue," said Canadian Ambassador Catherine Godin.
Deputy Minister of Family, Labour and Social Policy Aleksandra Gajewska guaranteed the support of her Ministry for the activities of the Ministry of Justice. "It is important to have an individual approach to each case and to change the cross-border procedure system in the best interests of children's rights," she stressed.
The cooperation of the Polish Ministry of Justice with the central authorities of the European Union Member States in family and alimony matters was discussed during the meeting. The cooperation is carried out on the basis of EU law and international agreements.
The topic that aroused the greatest emotions was also discussed – court orders for the forced return of a child to the country of permanent residence after unlawful abduction or detention. This issue is regulated by the Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, drawn up in The Hague on October 25, 1980. Usually, a minor returns when the participant in the proceedings, who is a parent or a guardian, executes the decision voluntarily or when the applicant executes the decision on their own. Cases where the decision is executed by a curator are extremely rare. In other cases, the procedure lasts for years, and specific cases appear as the subject of further meetings between Poland and third countries.
The Ministry of Justice acts as the central authority in international family proceedings concerning child abduction and in guardianship and maintenance matters.
The basic legal acts based on which the Ministry operates are, among others, the aforementioned Hague Convention of 1980 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, signed by the UN General Assembly on November 20, 1989.
The central authorities of European countries cooperate with each other through, among others, the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters (EJN).
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