The competent Swiss authorities of the town of Saint Gallen passed the decision, in December 2011, that minor children be temporarily seized from their parents Aleksandar and Sladjana Samardzic, permanent residents of Switzerland. The decision was explained by violation of the legal requirement of primary school attendance in Switzerland.

After the adoption of the above decision, the Embassy of the Republic of Serbia in Bern and the Consulate General of the Republic of Serbia in Zurich had official contacts, on several occasions, with the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs of Switzerland, as well as the Guardianship Authorities in St. Gallen, to the effect of terminating this interim measure as soon as possible and returning the children to their parents. The Swiss side conditioned the adoption of such decision on parents' cooperation with the Guardianship Authorities and fulfillment of the legal requirements of which the Samardzic family had been informed also through the Serbian Consulate General in Zurich.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has continued its active engagement in the resolution of this case and is taking all the measures available under international conventions and Swiss regulations in order to enable the return of the children to their parents.