State Central Authority and Vaberseck

In the matter of State Central Authority & Vaberseck, Bennett J considered issues arising from the removal of a child, B, from Hungary. The dispute involved the mother's actions in removing the child on or about 15 May 2015, and the potential legal ramifications for her in Hungary.

The court was required to determine two primary legal issues. Firstly, whether the father had the ability to prevent any prosecution or punishment of the mother in Hungary for removing the child. Secondly, the court needed to ascertain the mother's entitlement to remove the child from Hungary and whether this action constituted a breach of the father's custody rights within the meaning of the 1980 Hague Convention.

To address these issues, the court ordered that an interpreter be obtained for the mother at all future court hearings. Furthermore, the parties were directed to take all necessary steps to select a single expert witness to provide evidence on Hungarian law, specifically concerning the father's ability to prosecute the mother and the mother's entitlement to remove the child. The parties consented to and requested the court contact the Hague network judge for Hungary to identify suitable expert witnesses. The matter was adjourned for a hearing on a date to be fixed.