The Kanavinsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod and child return cases under the 1980 Hague Convention

Article 244.11 of the Russian Code of Civil Procedure assigns child return and access cases to the Kanavinsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod when the child is present within the Volga Federal District. What matters is where the child actually is, not where the parents are registered or where the respondent lives.

The Volga Federal District comprises the Republic of Bashkortostan, the Mari El Republic, the Republic of Mordovia, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Udmurt Republic, the Chuvash Republic, the Perm Territory, and the Kirov, Nizhny Novgorod, Orenburg, Penza, Samara, Saratov and Ulyanovsk Regions.

The district comprises 14 constituent entities, including regions with large cities such as Kazan, Samara, Ufa, Perm and Saratov. If the child is present in any of them, a 1980 Convention application is heard in Nizhny Novgorod.

The Orenburg and Saratov Regions border Kazakhstan. For families with ties to neighboring countries, it is important to check before filing whether the Convention is in force between Russia and the state concerned.

Address: 2 Iyulskikh Dney Street, Nizhny Novgorod, 603950. Official website: kanavinsky.nnov.sudrf.ru (in Russian).

The application is heard within no more than 42 days of its acceptance by the court, with the mandatory participation of the prosecutor and the guardianship authority. Appeals against decisions of the Kanavinsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod are heard by the Nizhny Novgorod Regional Court: the appeal is filed within 10 days of the decision being issued in final form, and the appellate court hears the case within no more than one month.

If the child is in the Volga Federal District, a lawyer can help confirm the jurisdiction of the Kanavinsky District Court of Nizhny Novgorod, prepare the application and evidence, and — where there is a risk that the child will be taken away — apply for interim measures.