My girlfriend's sister is married, they are both Polish and have a daughter however the marriage is falling apart, they are basically living separately but are technically still married.
The gentleman in this story has taken his daughter (2 years old) with him to Poland under the rouse of visiting his family and has now decided he is staying and will not give his daughter to her mother or her Polish ID card.
What are the rights of her mother and what can she do if he will not release not only her but also the ID?
They have equal parental rights and equal parental authority (those are the two legal categories that apply in Poland). But, as in any country, if she can't come to an agreement with her husband, then she'll have to file a case in court in order to see that her rights are respected. She'll have to do that in Poland. You really need a solicitor for this.
She should contact a solicitor in the town where her husband is living as that's where the case will be filed. She doesn't need a solicitor to file paperwork, she can do it herself, but it's always better to have at least some legal advice, if not representation. If she sends an email to a solicitor, they will generally give her a bit of advice regarding her legal options, free of charge. The best thing is to ask about the options, ask them for a price for filing the paperwork to bring a court action and another price for representing her in court. They are more likely to reply to her email if they think there is a chance of some business out of it.
Well, I'm not a solicitor so I'm not in a position to advise you further but I do know this much. Presumably he took the child with the mother's consent as he claimed it was for a holiday. It would only be kidnapping if he took her without consent. It's classified as retention, he's retaining the child against the mother's will. If they can't resolve it themselves, it has to be sorted out in court.
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