The Constitutional Court Considers Juana Rivas' Request to Suspend the Handover of Her Son to the Father

Francesco Arcuri has requested 'respect' upon his arrival at the family meeting point where Juana Rivas is due to hand over her younger son at 10 a.m. The Italian arrived accompanied by his Italian and Spanish lawyers.

The ongoing legal battles bring Juana Rivas and Francesco Arcuri to a new family meeting point in the capital today, where the mother from Maracena is expected to hand over her 11-year-old son. Both parties' legal teams await a decision from the Constitutional Court, which is considering whether to accept Rivas' request and grant an urgent interim measure to suspend the handover of the child.

Juana Rivas' lawyer, Carlos Aránguez, has appealed to the Constitutional Court against the order to hand over the younger son to his father. As a precautionary measure, the defence has requested the suspension of the order. The Constitutional Court will convene early this morning to make a decision, while the media gather at the family meeting point in Granada. The handover is scheduled between 10 and 11 a.m.

The judges of the Second Section, José María Macías as rapporteur, Ricardo Enríquez, and Juan Carlos Campo, will assess whether to take an urgent interim measure. Such constitutional interim measures are requested in cases of extreme urgency and seriousness, where there is an imminent risk of irreparable harm to a fundamental right.

Similarly, Juana Rivas' defence and her children's defence reported alleged episodes of mistreatment again over the weekend at the duty court in Granada, but the Court of Instruction Number 8 decided to dismiss the case. Additionally, the legal team appealed to the Provincial Court of Granada against the handover order, even though the appeal does not suspend the judicial decision that mandates the handover of the child.

The Provincial Court yesterday rejected Juana Rivas and her lawyers' request to suspend the order to hand over the younger son to his father and urged respect for the function of the Italian justice system.

The judges of the 5th Section of the Court reminded in their ruling that, concerning family proceedings, the 'immediate enforceability' of the agreements prevails 'without the possibility of suspension and without the need for provisional enforcement or any other procedure.'

According to the TSJA, the judges emphasise that the issue under discussion pertains to a matter in which the justice of another EU member country has intervened, and after highlighting that the suspension request explicitly mentions 'the existence of an open criminal case before a European court,' they conclude that 'there are no grounds for suspending the order and compliance measures agreed upon by the appealed resolution.'

At this point, the judges insist that 'the harmonious and correct functioning of a justice area in the Union that respects the different legal systems and traditions of the member states is vital for the Union. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen mutual trust in the respective legal systems,' understanding that the Italian court's resolution does not entail the child's lack of protection.

Carlos Aránguez, Rivas' defence, highlights that they will try to exhaust all avenues. Meanwhile, Arcuri's defence explains that the Constitutional Court cannot accept such a request because the ordinary channels have not yet been exhausted.