(CNN) -- Brazil's highest court said Wednesday it does not have jurisdiction over who should have custody of a U.S.-born 9-year-old boy -- his Brazilian stepfather or his father in the United States. 

David Goldman is seeking custody of his son, Sean, who is living with relatives of his deceased mother in Brazil. 

The high court's ruling sends the ongoing case back to an appeals court in Rio de Janeiro. 

In the unanimous vote, Brazil's Supreme Federal Court said it could not rule over The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, of which Brazil is a signatory. Brazil is undergoing constitutional reforms and has recently voted on a law that would make all international human rights conventions part of its constitution. 

Last week, Judge Marco Aurelio, who sits on the Supreme Federal Court, suspended a lower court ruling that custody of Sean Richard Goldman be turned over to the U.S. consulate, which was to have then handed him over to the boy's father, David Goldman, who is a U.S. citizen. 

Aurelio's decision was based on a conservative party's petition that said the boy's removal from Brazil would cause him psychological harm. 

But the father responded that his son was suffering psychological harm simply by remaining with his Brazilian relatives, whom Goldman -- a part-time model who captains boats -- accused of turning Sean against him. 

The case now goes to the Federal Appeals Court in Rio de Janeiro and does not mean the boy will return to his father without further rulings. 
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a part-time model