CHILD ABDUCTION...

PARENTAL KIDNAPPING & THE HAGUE CONVENTION

Divorce rates continue to rise and our world grows smaller with each leap in technology making international travel commonplace. With these societal changes, a dramatic increase has been seen in child abductions and child kidnappings by custodial and non-custodial parents. The goal of the abductor in such child abduction and parental kidnapping cases is to frustrate court proceedings regarding custody. Political and judicial differences between countries as well as differing societal views on men's and women's role in society make child abduction cases difficult at best. To address growing concerns regarding child abduction, many countries have adopted a treaty designed to expedite the return of children wrongfully removed to their home country. This treaty is called the Hague Convention.

The Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction seeks to curb international abductions of children by providing judicial remedies to those seeking the return of a child who has been wrongfully removed or retained. The Convention provides a simplified procedure for seeking the return of a child to its legal custodian. However, there are limitations to the treaty's application. The Convention applies only between those countries that have adopted it as "Contracting States." Under the treaty, each subscribing state sets up a "Central Authority" to serve as a liaison with the other Contracting States. An aggrieved parent may then file an application with either the Central Authority of the home country or the country where the child is located. Upon application, the Central Authority must take all appropriate measures to discover the whereabouts of the child, prevent harm to the child, protect the interests of the lawful custodian or applicant, and secure the voluntary return of the child.

If a judicial proceeding is initiated, the court must act expeditiously. Article 11 gives the applicant or the Central Authority of the Requested State the right to demand a statement from the court detailing the reasons for delay if a decision has not been made within six weeks from the commencement of proceedings. There need not be a custody decree in effect in order to trigger the return provisions under the Convention.