This matter, brought for review before the Supreme Court, has served to unify judicial practice concerning the handling of claims and counterclaims in family cases with foreign elements, emphasizing the necessity of a joint jurisdictional approach.
🔹 Circumstances of the Case
The parties N.K. and E.B., married in 2021 and with a minor child (D.K.), lived together in Greece. N.K. filed a petition for the dissolution of the marriage and child custody, while E.B., by way of a counterclaim, requested permission for the minor to travel abroad without the father’s authorization.
🔹 The Position of the Appellant Party
E.B. appealed the decision of the Elbasan First Instance Court, emphasizing that:
- The parties and the child are Albanian citizens;
- The marriage was concluded in Albania; therefore, the jurisdiction is Albanian;
- There was no separation of the claims; therefore, they cannot be addressed under different jurisdictions;
- In Greece, no such separate proceeding is foreseen, as the mother is automatically granted the right to travel with the child if she has custody.
🔹 Reasoning of the Civil Chamber of the Supreme Court
The Civil Chamber reasoned that the decision to exclude solely the counterclaim from jurisdiction was unfounded. The request for the child’s travel is closely linked to the dissolution of the marriage and the exercise of parental responsibility—issues that constitute a single legal relationship and cannot be separated into different jurisdictions. The Court emphasized that, although the child’s residence is in Greece, this fact does not justify the procedural separation of the claims, as neither the Hague Convention nor the Albanian law on private international law foresees such a separation.
🔹 Conclusion
In the interest of a fair, coherent process and the best interest of the child, the Chamber overturned the previous decision and returned the case to the Elbasan Court for the continuation of the trial of both claims in a unified proceeding.
