Is a parent living in Israel who wants to return to his/her native Romania able to use the security situation as a defence against possible child abduction proceedings for the minor’s return ?
By: דיאנה שאלתיאל•Published on: 02 June, 2022Yes, judging by a decision made by a Bucharest Area 6 District Court a few years ago, shortly a terrorist attack. The mother claimed that both she and the father, who were married, and who were both new immigrants in Israel had flown to their native Romania with their daughter because of the worrying security situation . The husband subsequently returned to Israel but the mother refused to join with their child. The father brought Hague Convention proceedings in Romania for the return of the minor but the court accepted the mother’s ‘grave risk’ defence and refused to order the daughter’s return.
The court referred to the threat from suicide bombers operating in Israel , noting that Romanian citizens were among the many innocent civilians killed or injured in the terror attacks. It concluded that the return of the minor to Israel ‘ is likely to expose her to grave dangers, and even to endanger her life, as long as every week there is a terror attack in Israel in which innocent people are killed and the situation in Israel continues to be tense to this day.’