Nigel Lowe, Emeritus Professor at Cardiff University, held a lecture on 5 May 2016 at the University of Milan-Bicocca on the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention and its relationships with the Brussels II Regulation – a current topic in the Italian legal system, due to the entry into force of the 1996 Convention on 1 January 2016.
Pursuant to Article 61 (a) and (b), the Brussels II Regulation has priority over the 1996 Hague Convention, the Convention being thus derogated by the Regulation in regard of all EU Member States – Denmark being the only exception.
However, even though the 1996 Hague Convention and the Brussels II Regulation have similar scopes of application (both dealing with parental responsibility, including the jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of the decisions), many differences exist between the two texts – the main one certainly being that only the 1996 Hague Convention rules over the applicable law for parental responsibility and gives a definition of “child”. In the second place, the 1996 Hague Convention is applicable in regard of all minors resident in a non-EU State, which ratified the Convention. The entry in force of this act in regard of Italy will thus complement and complete the legal regime of protection of minors.
In regard of recognition and the enforcement of the decisions, Brussels II a Regulation is applicable if the decision has been issued by a court of a Member State, regardless of the habitual residence of the children. The 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention, therefore, only has effects for the residual matters not ruled by the Brussels II Regulation and for the cases involving children whose habitual residence is not in a Member State.
Here you can find the announcement of the forthcoming lecture of prof. Lowe