Published on 05 June 2026
 
GRAND CHAMBER
CASE OF Z AND OTHERS v. FINLAND
(Application no. 42758/23)
 
QUESTIONS TO THE PARTIES
 
1.  Was the Supreme Court’s decision to return the second and third applicants to Russia, pursuant to the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, in breach of the applicants’ right to respect for their family life, guaranteed by Article 8 § 1 of the Convention? In particular, did the Supreme Court genuinely take into account and give sufficient reasons in respect of the following elements:
 
(a) the fact that the applicants had been granted asylum in Finland? More specifically, what relevance should be attributed to the children’s asylum status in the context of a return order made under the Hague Convention?
 
(b) the fact that the children were to be returned to Russia, given the situation in that country following 24 February 2022?
 
(c) the opposition of the second applicant to the return to Russia, including his placement and treatment at a child psychiatric ward; to what extent should the child’s wishes be taken into account in the specific context of international child abduction proceedings (see, for general principles, M. and M. v. Croatia, no. 10161/13, § 171, ECHR 2015 (extracts); and more specifically, M.K. v. Greece, no. 5131216, § 74, 1 February 2018; and M.P. and Others v. Greece, no. 2068/24, § 58, 9 September 2025)?
 
(d) the first applicant’s ability to maintain future contacts with the second and third applicants following their return to Russia (see X v. Latvia [GC], no. 27853/09, § 117, ECHR 2013; Maumousseau and Washington v. France, no. 39388/05, § 74, 6 December 2007; and Verhoeven v. France, no. 19664/20, §§ 62-65, 28 March 2024). In particular, at the time of the decision, were there reasonable and practical possibilities for the first applicant to maintain contact with the second and third applicants, and were these possibilities adequately examined?
 
2.  The Government are invited to indicate whether, in the period following 24 February 2022, Finnish courts have examined any other applications under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction seeking the return of children to Russia. If so, what were the reasons relied upon by the domestic courts in granting or refusing those return requests, in particular with regard to any assessment of risks linked to the situation in Russia?
 
3.  The Government are invited to provide translation into English of the Immigration Service’s decision of 12 December 2023 granting the applicants refugee status, the judgment of the Helsinki Court of Appeal dated 8 March 2023, and of the applicants’ second application to the Supreme Court for the extraordinary quashing of its decision of 27 September 2023.