Opinion ID: 1980309
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: The Russian custodial proceeding and order.

Text: Upon her return to Russia, Ms. Bliss began custodial proceedings there. Mr. Bliss first received notice of her petition in late November 1996, when she telephoned him, followed by personal service on him at his residence on November 26, 1996. The summons instructed Mr. Bliss to return to Russia on December 5 for a court hearing. Mr. Bliss then began to look for Russian counsel and sent the Russian court a fax on December 2, 1996, requesting a delay in the case so that he could present his objections and documentation to the court. On December 5, Mr. Bliss received a second summons from the court, notifying him that the hearing had been rescheduled for December 14. However, Mr. Bliss did not sign acknowledging receipt of the documents as requested because the summons was not legible. The next day, Mr. Bliss was served again with a better copy of the summons, but was not asked to sign anything. Mr. Bliss sent the court another fax on December 12, again asking for more time to organize his trip and prepare documents. On December 14, Mr. Bliss's Russian counsel represented to the court that they did not have proper papers and asked for additional time to prepare for the case. The case was again continued until December 30. The case was postponed on December 30 for the last time to January 20 because a representative from the government agency concerned with the rights of children was not present. On or about December 14, Mr. Bliss began to call social organizations and child adoption agencies to arrange a home study. He also contacted the Russian court for a third time on December 16 to ask the court for an official invitation to participate in the hearing so that he could obtain a visa from the Russian consulate. Mr. Bliss believed that the official invitation was necessary because during the five years that he worked in Russia, each time he had returned he had needed to get an invitation from a Russian organization before he could be issued a visa. As a result of his experiences, Mr. Bliss did not believe that the court summons would be sufficient for him to obtain a visa. [2] However, when questioned, Mr. Bliss conceded that he did not attempt to go to the Russian consulate to confirm that he would indeed need an official invitation, even after his wife had informed him that she had spoken to a consulate official and had been assured that the court summons would be sufficient for him to get a visa. [3] Although Mr. Bliss never secured a visa, he continued to remain in telephone contact with his Russian counsel up until the January 20 hearing. Mr. Bliss testified that had he been able to come to Russia, he would have worked with my lawyers, I would have helped them secure and choose witnesses, I would have helped with the cross examination and would have testified on his own behalf. However, Mr. Bliss did not explore any other alternatives to participating in the proceedings, such as tele- or video conferencing. At the hearing in Moscow on January 20 and 21, Mr. Bliss's attorneys cross-examined Ms. Bliss's witnesses as well as Ms. Bliss herself, but presented no witnesses on Mr. Bliss's behalf. In its order dated January 21, 1997 granting Ms. Bliss legal custody of Nikita, the Babushkin Inter-Municipal District Court determined Mr. Bliss's demands for an official invitation via official agencies to be merely a pretext for delaying the hearing. It also concluded that Mr. Bliss had been given a real opportunity to participate in the court proceedings as he had had adequate notice of the time and location of the proceedings. In granting custody to Ms. Bliss, the Babushkin court stated that it based its decision solely on the interests of the child and that it would award custody to the parent who has the greater bond with the child. [4] Among the factors cited by the court were that (1) Ms. Bliss appeared to be a caring mother and devoted most of her time to raising her son; (2) Mr. Bliss was rarely at home and spent little time raising Nikita; (3) Mr. Bliss at one point refused to have Nikita receive necessary care from Russian physicians because of his preference for U.S. specialists; and (4) Ms. Bliss had adequate living accommodations for her and her son. The court determined that to separate Nikita from his mother at this juncture might be damaging to the boy's mental health given his strong attachment to his mother. [5] In its analysis, the court also noted Nikita's American citizenship and concluded that its decision was in accordance with District of Columbia law, because it has rendered a decision in this dispute solely in the interests of the minor, Nikita Bliss. [6] Mr. Bliss appealed the lower court's decision to the Civil Division of the Moscow Municipal Court contending that he had been deprived of procedural due process because he was not given a chance to present his case in person. [7] Mr. Bliss also argued that the lower court had erred in failing to require a home study of both parties' living conditions. [8] Finally, Mr. Bliss asserted that the lower court did not properly apply D.C. law, again citing the failure to allow him an opportunity to personally present his case. The Moscow Municipal appellate court affirmed the custody order on February 10, 1997, concluding that (1) there was evidence in the record that Mr. Bliss had refused summons and did not appeal to official agencies regarding the question of traveling to Russia; (2) that a home study was not necessary because a parent's living condition was not determinative of the issue of the best interests of the child; and (3) the lower court complied with District of Columbia law because it rendered the decision solely in the interests of the child, after having properly notified the defendant of the time and place at which the case was to be heard.