Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht in Bremen; 2016-02-23; 4 UF 186/15
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:DE:OLGHB:2016:0223.4UF186.15.0A
Date: 2016-02-23
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Germany

82016DE0223(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
The Youth welfare office (Jugendamt) (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) applied to be released from its guardianship of a ward with Guinean origin (hereinafter ‘the defendant’) with habitual residence in Germany.
The Amtsgericht Bremen (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) dismissed the application and decided that the plaintiff shall remain to be the guardian stating that under Article 24(1)(1) EGBGB (1) the adulthood of the defendant is subject to the laws of Guinea as his country of origin where full legal age begins upon reaching the 21st year of age.
The plaintiff lodged an appeal with the Hanseatisches Oberlandesgericht in Bremen (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’) against this resolution. The appeal was found to be inadmissible.
The international jurisdiction of the German courts was given under Artilce 8(1) of the new Brussels II Regulation (2).
The question of who is the statutory representative of a person with limited legal capacity and what legal power such person has, is governed not by Article 7 EGBGB but Articles 21, 22 and 24 EGBGB or, if this is the case, by any prevailing international treaties. There were no such treaties to be taken into account in this case. In particular, the Hague Convention on the International Protection of Children of 19 October 1996 (3) could not apply due to the fact that the defendant was in the meantime 19 years old and Article 2 stipulates that this convention is only to be applied to children under the age of 18.
The Court of First Instance had correctly adjudicated that the adulthood of the defendant was to be determined by the Guinean Civil Code.
The Court of Appeal dismissed the immediate appeal of the plaintiff against the decision of the Court of First Instance.
(1) Einführungsgesetz zum Bürgerlichen Gesetzbuche (Introductory Act to the Civil Code).
(2) 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.
(3) Convention of 19 October 1996 on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.