Civil judicial cooperation: divorce and parental responsibility

The committee adopted the report by Mary BANOTTI (EPP-ED, IRL) broadly approving the Commission proposal, which had taken up many of the suggestions made by the rapporteur in an earlier working document. It adopted just a few amendments (under the consultation procedure), such as specifying the period within which an abducted child has to be returned (as far as possible, within a period of two months) and providing for alternatives for hearing a child in court. It also stipulated that a judgment that entails the return of a child shall state the sanctions which will apply in the event of the non-return of the child by the specified date. �