Shortly after the birth of the child in Switzerland, the unmarried parents moved to Spain, where they lived in a shared household for several years. In 2011, the parents separated and had alternating custody. At the end of January / beginning of February 2016, the mother moved with the child to Switzerland without the father’s knowledge. In pending custody proceedings in Spain, the father was granted full custody.
In an application dated 23 March 2016, the father applied to the Cantonal Court of Lucerne for the return of the child to Spain. The Cantonal Court, in its decision of 23 June 2016, ordered the return. The appeal filed by the mother was dismissed by the Federal Supreme Court in its decision of 12 August 2016.
After the ordered handover on 20 August 2016 had failed, the father applied to the Cantonal Court to execute the return immediately. On 5 September 2016, the mother applied for the application to be dismissed because of the opposition of the child. On 21 September 2016, the Cantonal Court ordered an expert opinion on the will, the formation of the will over time and the maturity of the child, which was issued on 5 December 2016. In addition, the Cantonal Court, by decree of 16 December 2016, established accompanied visitation contacts between father and son. On 6 February 2017 the Cantonal Court rejected the father’s application for return. Following an appeal by the father, the Federal Supreme Court allowed the appeal and referred the case back to the Cantonal Court.
In its decision of 18 August 2017, the Cantonal Court again approved the mother’s petition for modification, rejecting the father’s petition for return. On 1 September 2017, the father again filed a complaint against this amending decision.
