SOME GROUNDS TO REFUSE IN RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN COURT JUDGMENTS IN FAMILY-LAW MATTERS (ANALYSIS OF THE ECHR, ECJ AND COURTS OF UKRAINE PRACTICE)

Abstract

Abstract. The statement is devoted for the analysis of the European Court on Human Rights
(ECHR) and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) judgments containing interpretation of the actual
issues of the institution on recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments. Attention
is focused on the foreign court judgments in different categories of family-law matters – in
particular, matters on custody, the place of the child’s residence, return of children wrongfully
removed to or retained, and also the judgments on divorce (legal separation). Orders of the
Ukrainian courts on the refusal of the requests on recognition and enforcement on the territory
of Ukraine foreign court judgments on the mentioned categories of cases are also under the
scope of research. On this basis the author formulates conclusions concerning the practice of
application the rules on certain grounds for refusal in foreign court judgment recognition, prescribed
by the Hague Children’s Conventions, bilateral treaties of Ukraine on legal assistance
in civil and family matters, the European Convention on Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions
concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of Custody of Children of 1980.
Key words: foreign court judgment; grounds for refusal in recognition and enforcement;
court practice; family-law matters.