Polish Court Orders Return of Children to German Family That Fled to Poland

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• Proceedings in the case of the German Mori family have concluded at the District Court in Gdańsk.

• The court overturned the order placing the children in foster care, meaning they can return to their parents.

• The ruling is not final; the German party’s attorney has requested a statement of reasons and could still file an appeal.

• Legal assistance for the family is being provided by the Ordo Iuris Institute.

• Meanwhile, we note the lack of progress in the case of Polish children deported by Polish authorities to Sweden.

The District Court in Gdańsk, at the request of the attorney from the Ordo Iuris Institute’s litigation department who represents the Mori family—overturned the placement of German children in foster care in Poland. This placement had originally occurred as a result of actions taken by the German children protection services, the Jugendamt. The proceedings were significantly prolonged due to delays on the part of German officials. Although the case began in 2023 and the first hearing was held in mid-2024, a Jugendamt official did not actively participate until the final hearing. During this entire time, the Mori children were in Polish foster care.

Mr. and Mrs. Mori had initially approached the Jugendamt for assistance in Germany during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, instead of offering support, the office initiated court proceedings, but inspections by officials revealed no major irregularities—only a need for adequate support. Consequently, once the Jugendamt became convinced that the family was cooperative and had nothing to hide, it ultimately expressed, before a German court, that there was no need to remove the children from their parents.

Nonetheless, the German court of first instance issued a non-final ruling that the Mori children—a 15-year-old son and an 11-year-old daughter—should be taken from their parents and placed in foster care, likely resulting in their separation. The court failed to consider the totality of the evidence and the Jugendamt's position, relying primarily on the disputed and isolated opinion of a single expert.

After receiving this first-instance judgment, the family traveled to Poland for vacation. Upon arrival, Mr. and Mrs. Mori were informed by their German lawyer that, after their departure, the court—without waiting for the outcome of their appeal—had issued a protective order based on an alleged serious threat to the children’s welfare. This order called for the immediate removal of the children and their handover to the Jugendamt. The parents then sought help in Poland. With the support of the Polish Association of Parents Against Discrimination of Children in Germany, they found refuge in Bytów, where they obtained employment and enrolled their children in school.

The Jugendamt, attempting to enforce the court’s order, used the European SIRENE system to locate the children, which led the Polish police to their school in Bytów. The Mori family was not in hiding in their location of settlement in Poland and their children were attending school normally. After locating them, the Jugendamt informed the Polish side of the ongoing family proceedings in Germany and the protective order, prompting the initiation of family proceedings in Poland and the placement of the children in foster care. Simultaneously, the Jugendamt initiated efforts to formally return the children to Germany.

Earlier this month, the District Court in Gdańsk overturned the decision to place the children in foster care, allowing them to return to their parents. Until the legal conclusion of the proceedings, the family will remain under the supervision of a probation officer.

The latest hearing highlighted persistent issues for Polish authorities concerning their dealings with the Jugendamt. For nearly two years, no official—despite purported concern for the children's welfare—had spoken to the foster family about the children’s situation. Similarly, the Jugendamt treated participation in hearings casually, either failing to meet formal requirements or not attending at all. It was only during the final hearing that the Jugendamt actively presented its position.

The children had been in the care of a Polish foster family for years. This family maintained excellent contact with the parents and recognized their efforts to ensure the children’s well-being. Furthermore, a specialist from the District Family Assistance Center stated that returning the siblings to their parents was essential for their welfare and that there were no grounds to keep them separated from them. This view was reaffirmed during a reassessment of the family’s situation before the final hearing. It matched the conclusions of the Ordo Iuris lawyer representing the parents before the District Court’s family division, who argued that the children's best interests required them to remain in Poland and be reunited with their parents. Extraditing them to Germany would likely cause them deep psychological harm. All family-monitoring entities in Poland—the Family Assistance Center, the school, and the foster care provider—expressed positive assessments of the parents and emphasized that the children strongly wished to return home. Even the thought of permanent separation, being taken to Germany, and likely being split apart have caused the children significant anxiety.

"It is encouraging that the court resisted pressure to hastily resolve the case at the expense of a proper determination of facts and legal standing—unlike, for example, in the case of Mr. and Mrs. Klaman. At the very end of the proceedings, after nearly two years, the Jugendamt suddenly became active—although earlier, surprisingly, the [Polish] Ministry of Justice had been more involved, repeatedly urging swift resolution or providing explanations. The Jugendamt's actions were misguided and tardy, as though it assumed the Polish court could only simply mirror the position of such agencies. Thanks to the litigation efforts undertaken on behalf of the Mori family, the facts and legal status were properly established. The family has now permanently settled in Poland, as the children’s welfare is best ensured by living with their parents. Polish family welfare authorities confirmed this, and no irregularities were found. The disproportionate concern for the 'German interest' was evident throughout, reflected in the Polish Justice Ministry’s constant efforts to appoint an ex officio attorney for the German side and its reminders to the Gdańsk Court to expedite the proceedings. However, the delays stemmed solely from the German side’s inactivity. Despite this, the Mori family won at the first-instance level. During the proceedings, based on the submitted evidence and arguments, we were able to gain the support of both the Ombudsman for Children’s attorney and the prosecutor, who ultimately aligned with the parents' position in the interest of the children. It is heartening that, even in the face of a top-down policy shift, this outcome was possible," concludes attorney Warzyniec Knoblauch, representing the case on behalf of the Ordo Iuris Center for Litigation Intervention.

What About the Polish Children Deported to Sweden by Polish Authorities? The Klaman Family’s Ordeal

Ordo Iuris lawyers are also representing the Polish Klaman family, whose daughters were returned to Sweden and handed over to Swedish officials. In this case, the parents turned to the Ordo Iuris Institute only after their children had been deported with the full cooperation of the Swedish side and the Polish Ministry of Justice—despite the positive opinion of the guardian appointed by a Polish court. At this stage, only political pressure from the Polish government, which remains absent, could change the outcome. As was evident in the Mori case—where the Ministry of Justice pushed for swift review—the current government under Donald Tusk and Minister Adam Bodnar appears determined, unlike the previous administration, to systematically and promptly fulfill child-removal requests from other EU countries' social services. This occurs regardless of the families' factual circumstances, citizenship status (with the Tusk government deporting its own citizens), or the children's best interests.