Cross-Border Child Relocation in the EU: What Place for Free Movement in National Family Law?

Cross-border child relocation cases are among the most difficult issues in family law. As they engage free-movement rights-- the foundation of European Union law-- there is an increasing interest among scholars and practitioners alike in the influence of EU law on child relocation. However, considering the EU's scope of competence and the limited jurisprudence of the Court of Justice on such family matters, many questions regarding the reach of EU law have remained open. This book is the first monograph to investigate Europeanisation of cross-border child relocation law. What is the scope and nature of EU law's influence, both current and prospective? What are its impacts on national law? Cross-Border Child Relocation in the EU analyses the European legal framework of child relocation and potential harmonisation of the field. Using case law from Germany, Poland, England and Wales, it then qualitatively examines the processes of adaptation of national child relocation law to EU law. The book outlines the limits of EU law's pressures, but also conceptualises its influence from a constructivist perspective.