DIMAS & SARANTOS

In the matter of *Dimas & Sarantos*, Bennett J of the Family Court of Australia considered an application by the father for a recovery order concerning two young children who had been retained by their mother in Greece. The dispute centred on the mother's unilateral retention of the children in Greece, which the court found constituted wrongful retention within the meaning of the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

The court was required to determine whether to make a recovery order and, more broadly, what parenting orders were in the best interests of the children. Specifically, the court had to consider the implications of the children's wrongful retention and the appropriate steps to ensure their return to Australia and their welfare thereafter.

Bennett J reasoned that while the children had been wrongfully retained, it would be inappropriate to make a recovery order that would immediately remove them from the mother's care upon their return to Australia. Instead, the court determined that it was in the best interests of the children to be returned to Australia forthwith. Consequently, the court made orders for the mother to return the children to Australia, prohibited both parents from removing the children from Australia once they had returned, and placed the children on an Airport Watch List. Furthermore, the court ordered that the children's interests be independently represented by a lawyer, requesting that this lawyer contact any representatives of the children in Greece. The father's application for a recovery order was adjourned, and liberty was reserved for urgent applications for parenting orders upon the children's return.