Court orders Maltese national to return abducted son to Poland

The Court of Appeal upheld a court judgement ordering a Maltese national to immediately return his son to Poland, after abducting him from his mother.

The Court, presided over by Chief Justice Silvio Camilleri, Mr Justice Raymond Pace and Mr Justice Tonio Mallia, ordered that the child be taken back to Poland.

Michael Caruana was ordered by the Court of Appeal to return the five-year old to Katarzyna Morkis, his mother.

Caruana was challenged by the Department for the Protection of Social Standards, citing EU regulations and the International Convention on Child Abduction.

During submissions, the court heard that the child's parents lived in Malta, were never married and were in constant domestic turmoil. At one point, Morkis returned to Poland alone.

When Morkis informed Caruana that she was carrying his unborn child, she refused to return to Malta and the couple entered into an agreement in Poland, that gave custody to the mother and free access to Caruana to see his son.

But after several other arguments, the couple reached another agreement whereby the access rights of the father were clearly delineated, stating that he had to pick the minor up from his Polish residence and return him there.

Caruana however brought his son to Malta and refused to return him.

Both the First Hall of the Civil Court and the Court of Appeal found this to be in breach of international laws, as well as the Child Abduction and Custody Act.

The court ordered that the child be immediately returned to Poland.