All abducted children across the EU should sleep tight tonight. The ECJ will make sure that they are returned in a timely fashion to the place where they were habitually resident immediately before their unlawful removal or retention so they will be able to resume their daily life and restore a personal relationship and direct contact with the left-behind parent. Despite such a comforting scenario, this Article argues that the current blind application of the principle of mutual trust in the EU mechanism for the return of the child does not ensure an adequate protection of the best interests of children entangled in return proceedings.
Common Market Law Review