Couple separated after the start of the war. There was an agreement until 2029 but the father filed a complaint about the disappearance of his children.
One Ukrainian and one russo were married, with two children (5 and 9 years old); until they divorced in February 2024, two years after .
There was an agreement between the two: children stayed with their mother and the father agreed that the children leave Russia by 2029. They came to Faro, mother and children. All with status refugees however, due to the war in Ukraine.
However, the father presented complaint, the very next month, March 2024. He told Russia’s Department of Internal Affairs that the children had disappeared.
First, the case was dropped, but later the Lefortovo District Court (Moscow) ruled that the children should be handed over to their father; with the mother paying child support.
Mass Portuguese justice was not convinced.
The informs this Tuesday that the Court of Appeal of Lisbon refused this decision.
Portuguese judges consider that the Russian court has no jurisdiction to announce a decision on this case.
More than that, the sentence in Lefortovo did not safeguard the best interests of children. The Russian child welfare court did not even define contacts with the mother – and makes no reference to the right to coexistence between mother and children.
The Lisbon Court of Appeal adds that, if it had agreed with the decision of the Russian judges, it would be “manifestly incompatible with the principles of international public order of the Portuguese State”.
“This is a decision whose recognition would lead to a result that is manifestly incompatible with the principles of international public order of the Portuguese State”, cites Jornal de Notícias.
Thus, the minors remain in Portugal with their mother.
