Preface

Summary

Every family lawyer involved in cross-border disputes, be it a practising lawyer, a court officer, an academic or even a simple student, is aware of the overwhelming complexity to be found in this specific field of law. Because of the joint application and interconnection of multiple legal sources, even a ‘simple’ cross-border divorce with children requires the application of at least four – if not five – different instruments, hence calling for above-average legal skills and attention.

An increasing number of EU Regulations in private international law (PIL) in family matters, some of which implemented an enhanced cooperation and hence are not applicable to all EU Member States, need to be coordinated with each other and with some international conventions, such as the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention. Each of these instruments has a very sectoral scope of application, requiring coordination and joint application of rules from different instruments to the same case. The new Brussels II-ter, with its 100 articles and complex structure, increases the overall difficulties.

Furthermore, the rising number of cases discussed in national courts and the complexity of issues raised have led to an impressive number of references for preliminary ruling to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). As of today, the Court of Justice has handed down more than 70 decisions in cross-border family matters, which have become more and more rich and elaborate. Full knowledge and understanding of these decisions is paramount because, as it is well known, the Court’s decisions clarify the meaning and scope that EU rules have from the outset, and thus become binding for all parties and situations. It is not possible to apply EU Regulations without giving due consideration to the relevant EU case law. However, it is not easy to keep track of everything that is continuously handed down by the EU Court of Justice.

The trickiness of such a situation inspired the authors to conceive the present work, which has no equal on the legal market.