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Grandparents have right to see grandchildren: EU court
LUXEMBOURG, May 31, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – Grandparents have a legal right to
see their grandchildren, the EU’s top court ruled on Thursday, meaning
divorced parents cannot deny them access.
The finding came in a case brought by a Bulgarian woman who was
struggling to maintain contact with her grandson, whose parents are divorced
and who lives in Greece with his father.
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) said that EU law does not limit
access rights solely to parents.
“The notion of rights of access refers not only to the rights of access
of parents to their child, but also to the rights of access of other persons
with whom it is important for the child to maintain a personal relationship,
among others, the child’s grandparents,” the court ruled.
The grandmother, Neli Valcheva, wanted to see the boy one weekend a month
and for two to three weeks a year during school holidays.
After getting little help from the Greek authorities, Valcheva turned to
the Bulgarian courts, but they ruled the case was outside their jurisdiction
and should be dealt with in Greece.
The ECJ said that “as a general rule, the court of the child’s habitual
residence”, in this case Greece, should rule on access rights.
BSS/AFP/RY/1555 hrs