– Collection of social reports, protection notices, exchange of information –
For the protection of children, the Federal Office of Justice, Germany’s Central Authority, is entrusted with a variety of responsibilities in the area of cross-border administrative and legal assistance in matters concerning international custody under the Brussels II b Regulation and the Hague Child Protection Convention of 19 October 1996. The central authorities work on the basis of applications from their counterparts in other Member States, or those made by the competent authorities, courts, or from individuals or organisations with parental responsibility, so as to reach the stated aims of the Brussels II b Regulation and the Hague Child Protection Convention.
The aim of this international co-operation is to ensure the effective protection of children, and as such it places particular emphasis on the exchange of information between the competent bodies in any given case, i.e. authorities such as Youth Welfare Offices (Jugendämter) and courts.
The Federal Office of Justice supports the exchange of information under the terms of Article 80 of the Brussels II b Regulation in cases involving EU Member States (excluding Denmark), especially as refers to the following:
- The cross-border collection of reports on the social situation of a child and her/his environment (collection of social reports).
- Supporting protection measures to defend children from dangers to their well-being (reports of endangerment of children’s well-being, protection notices).
- The exchange of information concerning ongoing proceedings or decisions affecting the child, for example in relation to the transfer/ taking over of custody rights or to checks on or changes in arrangements affecting the custody situation.
In cases involving countries outside the European Union (including Denmark), such permission is set out, for Contracting States to the Hague Child Protection Convention, on the basis of Article 32 of said Convention. The current status of Contracting States to the Hague Child Protection Convention, in terms of their relations with Germany, can be found on the list of states on the German-language version of the website of the Federal Office of Justice and in general on the website of the Hague Conference on International Private Law.
For EU Member States (excluding Denmark), the new Brussels II b Regulation provides that new requests be transmitted via the Central Authorities (Article 78 paragraph 3 Brussels II b Regulation). As a result of these changes, cross-border communication between authorities in the area of parental responsibility is now being more extensively channelled through the Central Authorities. In this context, the Federal Office of Justice has also taken on duties previously carried out by the German International Social Service (Internationaler Sozialdienst) (see here) Exceptions allowing for direct communication are provided for only in particularly urgent cases in which a child’s well-being is exposed to a serious danger (Article 80 paragraph 2, sentence 2, Brussels II b Regulation). This is without prejudice to the direct communication between courts provided for by Article 86, Brussels II b Regulation.
The Brussels II b Regulation, as opposed to its predecessor, expressly stipulates that the information to be provided may not only be about the child, but in particular about the situation of a parent, a relative or other person who may be suitable to care for the child (Article 80 paragraph 1 (b), Brussels II b Regulation).
Furthermore, the Brussels II b Regulation defines a deadline within which requests for information exchange are to be answered. Pursuant to Article 80 paragraph 1 Brussels II b Regulation, the requesting Central Authority’s information is to be transmitted to the requested Central Authority within three months of the request being made, unless this is rendered impossible by exceptional circumstances.
In its role as Central Authority, the Federal Office of Justice can call on other authorities or institutions, such as Youth Welfare Offices, to compile reports on the child’s current social and living situation and on their environment, which the latter do by carrying out home visits and conversations with those responsible.
Under Article 80 Brussels II b or Article 32 Hague Child Protection Convention in connection with Sec. 9 Subsec. 1 No. 1 IFLPA (International Family Law Procedure Act – Familienrechtsverfahrensgesetz) German Youth Welfare Offices support the Central Authority in incoming requests , i.e. those from abroad. The Youth Welfare Offices are informed by the Federal Office of Justice of incoming endangerment and protection notices.
The Federal Office of Justice can, on behalf of bodies located in Germany, such as (family) courts and Youth Welfare Offices, pass on information to competent authorities abroad or obtain information from them and pass it on to the competent German authority where this is available. This means that, in cases involving a foreign country, protection and endangerment notifications can be sent to the central authority of the requested Contracting State, which is of particular importance for reporting suspicions of an immediate or continuing endangerment to the child’s well-being. Competent German authorities can also request via the Federal Office of Justice information from abroad as required. In this way, background information can be gathered and claims verified, for example if there is a lack of clarity around a custody situation or checks are required.