Constitutional Court: The court must decide on the enforcement of a custody order without delay

The case involved a situation in which a child had been placed in the mother’s custody by a final judgment, but in fact remained with the father, and, according to the Constitutional Court, the mother had had no contact with the child since January 2026. The mother therefore filed a motion for enforcement of the judgment in March. However, the district court did not rule on the motion for several months. The Constitutional Court emphasized that while the court must take into account the child’s current circumstances and, in a specific case, may not simply enforce the original decision, However, even a possible change in circumstances does not entitle the court to refrain from ruling on the motion at all. Doing so deprives the party of the opportunity to challenge the outcome of the proceedings through an appeal.

The ruling is particularly significant for contentious custody disputes, in which the mere passage of time can affect the child’s relationship with the parents and effectively favor the party who does not respect the existing decision. The Constitutional Court noted that every additional day of uncertainty exacerbates this undesirable situation, particularly from the perspective of the rights of a minor child. At the same time, it referred to the new provisions of the Act on Special Judicial Proceedings, under which the court must decide on the enforcement of a judgment without delay, generally no later than two months after the commencement of proceedings. The Constitutional Court therefore did not order the child to be handed over to the mother, but instructed the guardianship court not to continue the delays and to rule on the motion without delay.