A four-year-old boy who was unlawfully kept in South Africa by his mother will be returned to Switzerland after the Supreme Court of Appeal overturned an earlier Pretoria High Court ruling, reinforcing South Africa’s obligations under international child abduction law.
In a judgment that closely examined the child’s early life and living arrangements, the Supreme Court of Appeal confirmed that the case falls squarely under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The Convention treats the wrongful removal or retention of a child across international borders as a form of international abduction and places emphasis on the prompt return of children to their primary and habitual place of residence.
The child, who cannot be named because he is a minor, was born in Italy in May 2021. Shortly after his birth, his parents moved to Geneva, Switzerland, where the family lived together for almost two years. During this time, the father, an Italian national who later obtained Swiss citizenship, covered all expenses for both the child and the mother. These included housing, travel costs and childcare, effectively supporting the family’s day-to-day life in Switzerland.
The judges noted that the father’s acquisition of Swiss citizenship was significant. As a result, the child was entitled to Swiss citizenship and the social benefits that come with it. The court found that this further strengthened the child’s connection to Switzerland.
Importantly, the child was enrolled in a Swiss crèche and registered with local authorities. According to the court, these steps clearly showed that Switzerland was the child’s primary and habitual place of residence. The judges said this “cemented” Switzerland as the country where the child had a settled life with his parents.
The legal dispute began after the family travelled to South Africa in May 2022 to attend a wedding. While in South Africa, the child’s mother contracted Covid-19. The father returned to Switzerland as planned, expecting that the mother and child would follow once she recovered.
However, the mother did not return. Instead, she delayed her departure and ultimately decided to remain in South Africa
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