Restrictions on a child’s departure from the Russian Federation: recurring issues and emerging challenges
Keywords:
child's best interests, abuse of rights, child travel restrictions, parental rights, international treaty, inter-agency cooperation, rights of the minor child, cross-border family disputesAbstract
This article analyzes a case of repeated wrongful retention of a minor within the Russian Federation following the resolution of an international child abduction dispute. Using a specific example from judicial practice, the study focuses on the fundamental conflict between a court order issued pursuant to the international child abduction treaty (the 1980 Hague Convention) and domestic administrative procedures governing the imposition and revocation of a child exit ban. The author demonstrates that these legal collisions, exacerbated by a lack of effective inter-agency cooperation, result in violations of the legitimate rights and interests of minors. The conclusion is drawn that the current mechanism for managing child exit bans fails to adequately consider the child's best interests, thereby creating conditions for the abuse of rights by a disputing parent acting in bad faith to object to the child's departure from the Russian Federation.