We have handled, with local counsel, several international family law matters concerning Slovenia.

We have provided an expert report concerning the possibility of child abduction to Slovenia and issues concerning the return of children from that country.

Appeals in Hague cases in Slovenia are permitted without leave of the Court and the effect of such an appeal is to automatically suspend any return or access order pending an appeal. There is no procedure in Slovenia for an expedited procedure or special process of appeal in a Hague Convention case.

In one reported case a Slovenian father brought proceedings before the Slovenian authorities after his daughter’s mother moved the child to Austria and obtained a contact order but the mother successfully appealed that order. Following the remittal of the case and a number of delays due to the authorities’ inability to locate the mother, the Slovenian court eventually issued an interim order and he eventually saw her for the first time in more than nine years. However, his daughter subsequently refused to see him again and an Austrian court suspended the father’s contact rights in a decision. The European Court of Human Rights ultimately ruled that Slovenia had violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights concerning respect for private and family life.