Cross-Border Removal and Retention of a Child – Croatian Practice and European Expectation

This research relates to the collection, processing, and analysis of incoming child abduction proceedings of the four biggest municipal courts (of Zagreb, Osijek, Split, and Rijeka) in Croatia. The research focused on proceedings initiated between 1 July 2013 and 1 July 2017. The collected decisions (all unpublished) were critically evaluated with the help of a number of variables. The results are comparable to other national and international studies. The most interesting studies relate to the duration of certain procedures, voluntary return of the child and achievement of an amicable agreement, the hearing of children, the different causes of abduction, the decisions in return proceedings, and the relevance of the social welfare report to a return decision. This research allows us to evaluate the Croatian practices against the requirements of European and international legal frameworks. The results have already led to law reform in Croatia.