Girl in foster care taken out of Malta by her mother is a case of child abduction, court rules

The case of a child that escaped Malta with her birth mother has been declared a 'child abduction' by the Family Court after the Ministry for Solidarity and Social Justice, the Family and the Children's Rights filed a court application into the matter.

The foster child, who was under the protection of a care order, illegally escaped Malta with the help of her mother last October. The child had been living with a foster family, but was granted unsupervised access to her mother for a set number of hours on weekends. 

The child herself had expressed a desire to spend more time with her mother, hence the decision to grant meeting time on the weekend.

However on 12 October, authorities were informed by the foster family that the mother had failed to return the child back home, and police received notification that the mother was located in another European country.

READ ALSO: Ministry confirms child under protection order left Malta illegally with mother

The Family Court, presided over by Judge Jacqueline Padovani Grima, handed down the judgement declaring that the child had been taken out of Malta illegally and in violation of the law and international convention.

This sentence will be communicated to the respective authorities in other countries so that once the child is found, foreign courts will beable to apply and enforce the sentence given and in turn order the child's return towards Malta.