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Sorry for the long post but some background on this is essential. I'll keep it brief.
The past
January 7th 2011 is a date that will forever be rembered by myself and my Polish partner. It started well enough and the children were handed over to their father for the day with an agreed time to return them. A little earlier than usual as we had flights back to the UK at 6am. The handover time passed and panic set in when it became clear that the children were not going to be returned and there was no response to calls. My partner went to his apartment and returned a couple of hours later with her hands bleeding from knocking on the door. The next three days were spent making posters, walking the streets, talking to the media, and my partner on her knees in Police stations begging for help. No one was interested until the fourth day when an unusually pleasant Police officer ordered some Police officers to go to his aprtment. They argued in front of us that it wasn't their job to do that, but were sent on their way. On the fifth day the tables were turned. They found him and the kids in his apartment and also found out he was a former police officer. We became the enemy. My partner and her sister were interrogated(not interviewed) at length about me.
The Journey Back
A living [censored] @ -15c
The Journey Back
Over the next few days enourmous amounts of money were extorted from us by greedy lawyers who had absolutely no idea what to do. I had to go back to the UK for business reasons and coincidently as I arrived, my partners son was returned to her leaving only her 4 yr old daughter in his hands. My partner was advised to leave Poland with her son by road to Berlin. I met them the following day in Berlin and we flew back the next day. It was very emotional leaving one child behind. After visiting a child psychologist we believed we had enough evidence to get the little one back but we were wrong. This was Poland and they think differently.
Towards the end of January I came accross Reunite.org without whom, the little one would have lost. We embarked on a Hague Convention case in Poland with everything stacked against my partner. The court were viscous and thats being kind. Everyone who worked in or around the courts would point and say "It's the Hague Woman". We were definately the enemy. With undisputable evidence from our side, and constant lies from his side, proved as lies with video, photographic and audio evidence, over the next six months the court slowly swung to us and realised this wasn't an act of love but an act of brutality to the mother using the children. It was ordered the little one be returned. :woohoo:
We are amongst only a very few that managed to get a child back from Poland. Nobody in Poland thought we could possibly do it.
Another mountain
It was a joy to cross the German border and feel safe. At this point we were skint. I'd sold everything including my business but for a moment we were happy. Then the divorce started. Through misscommunication it was started in Poland and then through the stubborness of our Polish solicitor thinking Polish law was more important than International Laws/Agreements, he managed to give the Polish courts jurisdiction over the children. Just to crown it all, he was back in the police force and as the judge said, "I have to believe him. He is a Policeman". My partner was now a bigger pariah. Bringing Polish children up outside of Poland. Everywhere else is terrible. Only Poland is perfect. Effectively this meant everything from the Hague was ignored; especially the facts of what he did to the kids during the abduction. Drugs, masks headphones. Even admitting to beating his wife wasn't enough to sway the judge. She found in his favour and said that beatings were just a normal part of marriage.
For the children thee was some good news. They can they in the UK. The bad news is they are not allowed to spend any holidays with their mother but its just fine for them to go back to the flat where they were drugged, masked and had headphones taped to their heads.
The next battle
Now the dust has settled, and jurisdiction has passed back to the UK, we need some info on how to get this order varied. I know we need to apply for a residence order but we don't have sufficient funds to proceed with a solicitor. We have been told to expect to pay between £2000 and £8000. Ouch! So far the father has failed to give permission so the children can get new Polish passports and has also stated on two occassions he will not return the children. This is an adventure the kids do not need repeating; as you can imagine this has left some scars. They don't trust him basically and it didn't help he beat an elderly man up on a tram when they last saw him. Interestingly the youngest child, now 7, refuses to speak in Polish even though mum speaks to her in Polish. Possibly a result of what happenned but thats just speculation.
Any advice on how to approach this would be much appreciated.
My advice is that you need professional assistance, this case is so complex that I feel it really needs to be handled by highly experienced professionals.
Here's a link to possible pro bono assistance for you...this would enable you get the representation you need. It might be a good idea to go and see your MP too and ask for their help.
www.barprobono.org.uk/overview.html
Also I seem to remember reading in this link that free legal advice may be available, but this may just be London based
www.rcjadvice.org.uk
You can certainly go through the courts self-representing, in which case it's a £200 application fee, and that's it.
I think, because of the complexity of what has gone on, rather than ask the CCLC to pop on here, it's probably better if you contact them and speak to them directly initially, though it would be good if you could post back here on your progress. The link is http://www.childrenslegalcentre.com/
Here's a guide to Pro bno that I've just come across
www.probonouk.net/upload/2012_Guide_to_Pro_Bono.pdf
Thanks for the replies so far. Some nice bed time reading there.
Self representing is not as daunting as you imagine. We have already self represented at High Court level which was really interesting. The judge had a good sense of humour. The second judge didn't. Unfortunately we were doomed to failure by the action of our solicitor in Poland who was told to say that under no circumstances was my partner prepared to discuss the children in a Polish court as the courts of England and Wales had jurisdiction; he felt sure he could not do it in a Polish court so asked for Alimony for the kids. Fail. That request transferred jurisdiction. In effect it was acceptance that the Polish court had jurisdiction. Unfortunately there are few solicitors, and even less that are honest, that have the experience to deal with International Family Law in Poland. Using a UK based solicitor is prohibitively expensive.
Anyone that finds themselves in an illegal retention or abduction abroad should make their first call to reunite.org
You can do a lot wrong without even realising it.
It might be a good idea to attend a Families Need Fathers meeting in your area. You will find support and legal advice and others here that have attended have found it to be really helpful. Here's a link to the webpage where you will find details of meetings in your area.
www.fnf.org.uk/help-and-support/local-branch-meetings
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