Father loses High Court case over daughter who was unlawfully taken to Poland

High Court Reporter

An Irish father who accused the Polish State of "child-abduction" and whose young daughter was taken to Poland two years ago by her mother without consent has had his case, urging Irish intervention in the matter, dismissed by the High Court.

Last month, the man, who cannot be named, told the court he has been separated from his daughter for 750 days, a period he described as "horrific and frightening".

He had sought orders from the High Court directing the Irish State to assist in the location of his child in Poland and for her safe return, alleging it failed to intervene and vindicate the child's rights as an Irish citizen.

In January, the Polish Supreme Court dismissed an action by the Polish child ombudsman opposing a lower court's order for the child’s return.

However, the ombudsman then filed an "extraordinary complaint" against the order, which could cause further delay to the missing child's return.

The father, who represented himself, took the action against the Taoiseach, the Minister for Justice, and the Minister for Foreign Affairs.

The child's mother, the man's estranged wife, took the girl to Poland, the mother's homeland, in March 2024 without the father's consent.

Despite the court ordering the child to be returned to Ireland, authorities there have been unable to locate her, and their ombudsman has objected to her return.

In his judgment on Tuesday, Judge Bradley said the Irish Courts have quoted in judgments the Hague Convention on children's rights and said that "child abduction was a scourge which could cause untold distress to children and their parents and referenced the uncertainties which are a feature of all legal systems".

Judge Bradley said correspondence by the plaintiff reflected the reality of the distress experienced by him as a parent "in this most difficult of cases.

"Notwithstanding that the plaintiff has successfully prevailed at each level of the judicial process giving effect to the Hague Convention in Poland, the enforcement authorities in Poland have been unable to locate his daughter and give effect to the return order directed," Judge Bradley said.

The judge said the plaintiff had sought "a series of orders from the Irish High Court directing the Irish Government to take various steps in the process currently taking place in Poland in order to give effect to the order".

Dismissing the case, the judge said: "The legal context and the facts outlined, confirm that none of the reliefs sought by the plaintiff in seeking to secure the enforcement and execution of the order (granted by the Polish courts) by the Polish authorities lie against the defendants in the exercise of the executive arm of government in Ireland."

He said the facts of the case confirmed the nature of the political and consular action taken by the defendants was consistent with Article 29 of the Constitution and the legal obligations arising in what he described as "difficult circumstances" that were "extremely distressing" for the man.

The mother claimed that the now four-year-old would receive better medical treatment in Poland.

The man had told the High Court that the latest intervention by the ombudsman meant a delay for an unknown amount of time and that the passing of two years without being with his daughter was "horrific and frightening".

He had said his daughter had been "seized by a foreign state" that was "declaring war" on him, despite court rulings in his favour.

He said the new complaint by the ombudsman amounted to "obscene state interference" on the Supreme Court ruling and that the Polish state was seeking to ride "roughshod" over the rule of law, placing his child in harm's way.

He said the last time he saw his daughter was at a Warsaw court in January 2025, that he had travelled to Poland 11 times to get the child back, and that he needed the High Court’s help compelling the Irish State to act.

"The fact that we are here is incredible," he said, adding that his daughter had been and still is a victim of "state child-abduction by Poland".

Gerard Durkan, defending, previously told the court that Ireland was bound to obligations under the Hague and Vienna Conventions to respect diplomatic practices and the sovereignty of Poland and its laws.

Durkan has said the State has made extensive efforts, but they have not had the desired effects, and the Irish authorities continue to be concerned about the child.