The right to have contact : measures in case of non-compliance with residence and contact arrangements after parental separation

The research concerns the issues of non-compliance with residence and contact arrangements. When parents are no longer living together, a contact or residence arrangement has to be made for their minor children. However, in case of problematic divorces and separations, parents often do not live up to these arrangements. The research will examine which measures the national authorities are able or should be able to impose in case of non-compliance with residence and contact arrangements, in order to guarantee the contact between parent and child in an effective and sufficient manner. The research starts with a study of the right to have contact as a fundamental right, i.a. embodied in art. 8 ECHR and art. 9 CRC. This study is followed by an analysis of ECtHR case law concerning the non-compliance with residence and contact arrangements. Subsequently, the research examines which measures the Belgian authorities are able to impose in case of non-compliance, followed by an evaluation of these measures on the basis of the criteria derived from ECtHR case law. German law, Dutch law and the law of England and Wales will be sources of inspiration for this.