Hague Convention Abduction Case: Violation of Right to be Heard Through Cancellation of Promised Oral Hearing

In a summary proceeding concerning the international child abduction under the Hague Convention, the court found that while generally there is no right to a reply or an oral hearing, an exception exists if the opposing party introduces new and significant points. The lower court violated the right to be heard (Art. 29 Abs. 2 BV) because the instructing judge had promised an oral hearing but then cancelled it without notice and issued a decision, thereby precluding the petitioner from responding orally to considerable new facts presented by the opposing party in their statement. Consequently, the appellate court upheld the nullity complaint, quashed the challenged decision, and remanded the matter for a new decision by the lower court, as the violation of the right to be heard was not cured at the appellate level.