88 QIL 60 (2019) 69-97 ZOOM IN or death to practical assistance with return home or following a robbery.97 At the moment − setting aside the fact that most European States have cut off diplomatic relations with Syria − there is no agreement either on the question of whether a national has a legal right or, again, merely a legitimate expectation, of receiving protection from his own Embassy or consular post, nor is there uniformity amongst States − not even EU Member States − on the extent of protection offered by individual missions or posts.98 Remarkably, the question of whether an obligation to provide assistance to the family members of FTFs is incumbent upon the diplomatic and consular services has recently been brought before the Belgian courts. The lower court ordered that Belgium should do everything in its powers to bring back six children and their mothers − the latter tried and convicted in absentia by Belgian courts − from the Al-Hol camp in Syria.99 The court ruled that the best interest of the children should be upheld by all Belgian authorities, including the Belgian diplomatic and consular services, and it further stated that, according to the Code of Consular Affairs, Belgian citizens are entitled to consular assistance when they find themselves in extreme circumstances. Even though the mothers might no longer be entitled to consular assistance in light of the conviction the same cannot be claimed with regard to the children.100 Therefore, the court ordered Belgium to organize the travel within 40 days after being notified of the decision or pay a daily penalty of 5,000 euros for each child up to a maximum 1 million euros. The decision, immediately appealed by the Belgian Government − worried that it could set a dangerous precedent − has been overturned in February 2019, when the Appeals Court ruled that Belgium has no obligation to bring back the children and their mothers.101 Notwithstanding the alleged lack of a legal ob- 97 See Denza (n 83) 474. ibid 475. 99 Royaume de Belgique, Affaires étrangères, Commerce extérieur et Coopération au Développement, ‘Ordonnance du 26 décembre 2018 dans l’affaire Tatiana Wielandt et Bouchra Abouallal contre l’Etat belge’ (29 January 2019) <https://diplomatie. belgium.be/fr/newsroom/nouvelles/2019/ordonnance_dans_affaire_tatiana_wielandt_e t_bouchra_abouallal>. 100 Mehra, Paulussen (n 39) 4. 101 ibid. 98