When a relationship ends, an important issue to be taken care of is the practice of parental rights of custody. If there is no disagreement between the partners, then there is no need for the decision of the court. However, there are plenty of cases when the partners can not settle an agreement. That is the main cause of family litigations, not only between Hungarian partners, but more often between partners from different countries of the EU. We regard cases international ones where the argument concerns more than one EU country, for example the mother is French, the father is Hungarian but they live in Germany.
First of all, we need to clarify what rights of custody means in these terms:
the term ‘rights of custody' shall include rights and duties relating to the care of the person of a child, and in particular the right to determine the child's place of residence
A, case: the child was not born out of wedlock
as the COUNCIL REGULATION (EC) No 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 8. Arcticle says:
- The courts of a Member State shall have jurisdiction in matters of parental responsibility over a child who is habitually resident in that Member State at the time the court is seised.
That means the Hungarian court has jurisdiction only in those cases where the child resides in Hungary at the time when the lawsuit is brought to court. The only exception is the wrongful removal or retention of the child, the Hungarian court shall retain their jurisdiction until the child has acquired a habitual residence in another Member State, where one of the partners has taken him/her.
B, case: the child was born out of wedlock
These couples can take care of this problem in the usual divorce procedure, they don’t need to take any other legal action over the rights of custody.
That means Hungary has jurisdiction in those cases where:
- both of the partners has aquired a habitual residence in Hungary
- the respondent moved here
- the person who brings the lawsuit has lived in Hungary for at least 1 year
- the Hungarian partner who wants to take legal action has lived in Hungary for at least 6 months
