Dutch Court Lets Father Take Daughter to Morocco for Family Wedding, Orders Passport Handover
In the Netherlands, a disagreement over a young girl’s holiday schedule led a court to authorize her father to take her to Morocco for a family wedding. Her mother had asked for three and a half days with the child; the judge ruled that she would get that time back later.
It all comes down to the autumn holiday schedule. A previous court ruling stipulated that the parents would split the school holidays equally. The mother therefore expected to spend three and a half days with her daughter, who was born in 2020. The father, meanwhile, wanted to take her to Morocco from October 9 to 19 to attend a wedding in his family.
On Bladi.net : She wants to travel to Morocco with her child without the father’s consent, but the judge says yes
The mother also points out that the father had already spent three weeks of the summer holidays with their child. She does not object to the trip to Morocco; her disagreement concerns how the days are divided. Unable to reach an agreement, the parties had the case heard on September 28 by the Midden-Nederland court in Lelystad.
Passport must be handed over or face a €500-a-day penalty
In the judge’s view, attending the family wedding is important for the girl. But spending time with her mother and relatives is just as important. During the hearing, the father then agrees to make up for the days the mother loses at another time, for example during the spring holidays. The judge adopts this solution and authorizes the trip, according to the ruling published on October 27.
The decision also requires the mother to hand the girl’s passport to the father by October 2 at the latest. If she delays after the ruling is served, a penalty of 500 euros per day will apply, up to a maximum of 4,000 euros. The judge aims to ensure that the father has the document before departure.
The court leaves each parent to pay their own legal costs. It nevertheless warns both parties that if they repeatedly have to go to court to obtain permission for holidays, one of them could end up paying the costs of a future case.
