Krajský súd Banská Bystrica; 2017-11-30; 12CoP/64/2017
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:SK:KSBB:2017:6316207428.2
Date: 2017-11-30
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Slovakia

82017SK1130(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
The Krajský súd Banská Bystrica (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’) nullified the decision of the Okresný súd Brezno (hereinafter ‘Court of First Instance’), which stopped the proceedings in the matter of substitute care for the child due to the lack of jurisdiction.
The minor had lived in Austria for at least half a year before the application was submitted, together with a relative to whom he was entrusted to personal care. He attended primary school in Austria. However, he could not establish strong bonds with his new environment, had only poor knowledge of the German language, and demanded his return to the Slovak Republic where his parents lived.
The Court of Appeal concluded that, in addition to the minor's and length of stay in another Member State, the Court of First Instance did not fully examine other relevant factors important for determining the child's habitual residence, such as conditions and reasons for the minor's residence in the Member State, the integration of the minor into his new environment, language skills and family and social ties of the child. At the same time, the Court of Appeal pointed out the importance of the criterion of ‘superior interests of the child’ within the meaning of Article 12(1)(b) of the new Brussels II Regulation (1), which a court is obliged to take into account when assessing its competence to decide on the matters of the attribution, exercise, delegation, restriction or termination of parental responsibility.
With these recommendations, the Court of Appeal referred the case back to the Court of First Instance for further proceedings. The Court of Appeal drew close attention to Article 12(1)(b) of the new Brussels II Regulation since both parents and the holder of parental responsibility have clearly demonstrated their will to submit the case to the jurisdiction of Slovak courts.
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000.