Child Abduction Within the European Union - (Studies in Private International Law) by Katarina Trimmings (Hardcover)

About the Book

"This book is based on the author's doctoral thesis, which was presented for the degree of Ph. D. at the University of Aberdeen in April 2010"--Preface.

Book Synopsis

This book offers an overview of the laws surrounding child abduction within the European Union. The first part of this book critically evaluates the evolution of the separate intra-EU child abduction regime and examines to what extent the EU complied with its standards of good legislative drafting during the negotiations on the Brussels II bis Regulation. It demonstrates that there was no real legal need for the involvement of the EU in the area of child abduction and for the tightening of the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention return mechanism. The second part of the book presents findings of a statistical survey into the operation of child abduction provisions of the Brussels II bis Regulation in the first year of the functioning of the instrument and reveals how effectively the intra-EU return mechanism operated in that year. Based on the findings of the statistical survey, the book identifies and discusses a number of points of concern in respect to the functioning of the new child abduction scheme. Finally, the book investigates whether the Brussels II bis Regulation has added any value in the area of child abduction. (Series: Studies in Private International Law - No. 11)

Review Quotes

"The thesis of Katarina Trimmings stands as a profound study of recent developments on child abduction within the EU; at the same time it explores unchartered territory through the elaboration of questionnaires and statistica data from Central Authorities of many countries" --Armenopoulos (Thessaloniki Bar Review)

"It is not often that an academic book reads as if it were a novel...Both the writing style and the systematic way in which the author addresses the issues grip the reader and make it difficult to put the book down...The book gives an excellent overview of the problem of international child abduction in all its contemporary complexity. It also makes a point about sound and deliberate legislative drafting based on clear research findings...When academics produce this level of work, they indeed deserve to be taken seriously by policy makers." --Edinburgh Law Review

"..Katarina Trimmings' book offers a pioneering study on the additions to the Convention for child abductions within the European Union created by 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 (the Brussels II bis Regulation, or: Brussels II bis)... Her recommendations for amendments to the Regulation (chapter 8) are well reasoned and should be taken seriously on the occasion of the next revision of the Regulation." --Netherlands International Law Review 2014, issue 1, pp. 128-132

"Overall, there is no doubt that this book is a very important contribution to the existing literature, not only specifically in relation to the Brussels II bis Regulation, but also more generally in relation to EU law-making and international child abduction. It should be read by all who have an interest in these fields." --Child and Family Law Quarterly, 2014, 2

About the Author

Katarina Trimmings is a Lecturer in Law at the University of Aberdeen.