This Article was originally published in The Family Law Journal, issue June 2009.

Daniel Sanders discusses recent cross-border disputes involving Polish children and considers the way the Hague Convention and Brussels II Revised have been applied.

With cross-border disputes becoming increasingly common in Children Act proceedings, Daniel Sanders examines recent decisions regarding Polish children and the way in which the Hague Convention and Brussels II Revised has been applied in these cross-border conflicts.

With the expansion of the European Union in recent years and the resultant free movement across Europe of the workforce, comes the inevitable movement of families and the formation of new relationships. This in turn creates an international dimension to family life, and with that, an increased international focus in family law and an increased frequency of cross-border disputes. Poland joined the EU on 1st May 2004. In Southampton alone it is estimated that there are now some 25,000 Polish immigrants within a city population of approximately 250,000. This article will outline the basic principles of the Hague Convention and Brussels II Revised and will focus specifically on those cross-border disputes concerning children together with a snapshot of recent Anglo-Polish litigation which sheds some interesting light on the way in which international child law principles have, or have not, been applied.

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