9. International parent–child abduction

2020 ◽  
pp. 166-184
Author(s):  
Susan Heenan ◽  
Anna Heenan

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter focuses on child abduction whereby a parent takes a child out of England and Wales. It looks at two forms of parent–child abduction—removal without consent, and retention once consent has expired—and considers methods of preventing child abduction, including port alerts and court orders. The chapter also discusses the role of the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) in the recovery of an abducted child under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985, as long as the child is in a country that is signatory to the Hague Convention 1980, Hague Convention 1996, or European Convention. It concludes by considering extradition of the guilty parent to England and Wales.

Author(s):  
Susan Heenan ◽  
Anna Heenan

Each Concentrate revision guide is packed with essential information, key cases, revision tips, exam Q&As, and more. Concentrates show you what to expect in a law exam, what examiners are looking for, and how to achieve extra marks. This chapter focuses on child abduction whereby a parent takes a child out of England and Wales. It looks at two forms of parent–child abduction—removal without consent, and retention once consent has expired—and considers methods of preventing child abduction, including port alerts and court orders. The chapter also discusses the role of the International Child Abduction and Contact Unit (ICACU) in the recovery of an abducted child under the Child Abduction and Custody Act 1985, as long as the child is in a country that is signatory to the Hague Convention 1980, Hague Convention 1996, or European Convention. It concludes by considering extradition of the guilty parent to the UK.


2002 ◽  
Vol 51 (2) ◽  
pp. 427-435 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Armstrong

The jurisdiction of England and Wales is vastly experienced in application of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction1 (the Convention). The UK2 was the fifth3 Contracting State to the Convention, which now boasts 70 State Parties,4 and England and Wales consistently handles a significant proportion of annual Convention applications. In terms of applications, which were processed by Central Authorities, England and Wales was the second busiest Convention jurisdiction in 1999.5 The USA handled 466 applications, England and Wales 329, and Germany 210. Indeed the Central Authority for England and Wales handled more applications than any other, the USA having split incoming and outgoing applications between two separate bodies.6


2001 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 441-492
Author(s):  
Andrew Bainham

One of the more drastic results of marital breakdown can occur where a mother decides to leave the country permanently and relocate with a child. Such cases can pose an acute dilemma where, as in Payne v. Payne [2001] 1 F.L.R. 1052, the father has enjoyed substantial contact with the child which is bound to be severely curtailed (if not entirely destroyed) by the mother’s relocation on the other side of the world. Here the mother, a New Zealander, had been ordered by a New Zealand court to return the child to England, following her “wrongful retention” there, under the Hague Convention which governs international child abduction. In the present proceedings she sought leave to return home to her original family with her four-year-old daughter. The father had substantial staying contact, which was sufficiently extensive that it might almost be termed “time-sharing”, and he countered with an application for a residence order. It was not in dispute that the child had an exceptionally good relationship with the father and with the paternal relatives in Newmarket. The mother, who by this time had grown to loathe her home in London, was adamant that she could only provide the child with a happy and secure upbringing if allowed to return to New Zealand. The father unsuccessfully opposed her application in the Cambridge County Court but appealed on the basis that the settled principle applied by the courts was in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights and in conflict with the Children Act 1989. The essence of the argument was that the Convention enshrined a right of contact between parent and child as an aspect of respect for family life under Article 8 and that the Children Act also required much greater significance to be attached to the preservation of such contact.


2015 ◽  
Vol 84 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Keller ◽  
Corina Heri

In its case law on international child abduction, the European Court of Human Rights (ecthr) seeks to interpret the European Convention on Human Rights (echr) in conformity with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Both instruments safeguard the best interests of abducted children, but in different ways. This article explores the progress made by the ecthr in harmonising the conflict between the Hague Convention and Article 8 echr. While the ecthr’s approach to the abducted child’s best interests in Neulinger and Shuruk v. Switzerland was met with strong criticism, the Court seems to have found a viable approach in X. v. Latvia. The ecthr’s current tactic allows it to continue its dialogue with national authorities and international bodies by imposing procedural requirements, thereby contributing to a harmonised approach appropriate to the best interests of abducted children without negatively impacting the functioning of the Hague Convention.


1999 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Lowe ◽  
Alison Perry

Since 1 August 19861 the United Kingdom has been party to two international conventions on child abduction: the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and the European (Luxembourg) Convention of 20 May 1980 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Concerning Custody of Children and on Restoration of Custody of Children. While differing in various respects, each Convention seeks to tackle the problem of international child abduction by expediting the return of children under the age of 16 to their country of habitual residence following a wrongful removal to or retention in another contracting State. The principal difference between the Conventions is that while the Hague Convention deals with breaches of “rights of custody” or rights of access which may arise whether or not any court order exists with regard to the child, the European Convention is concerned solely with the recognition and enforcement of orders and decisions relating to custody and access.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 671
Author(s):  
Carmen Azcárraga Monzonís

Resumen: Sustracción internacional a España de menor residente en Suiza en aplicación del Con­venio de La Haya de 1980 sobre los aspectos civiles de la sustracción internacional de menores. Discre­pancia sobre la residencia habitual del menor. No se aprecian motivos de no retorno.Palabras clave: sustracción internacional de menores, Convenio de La Haya sobre sustracción, Convenio de La Haya sobre responsabilidad parental y protección de menores, residencia habitualAbstract: International abduction to Spain of a minor residing in Switzerland under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 1980. Discrepancy about the habi­tual residence of the minor. No grounds for return denial are appreciated.Keywords: international child abduction, Hague Convention on Child Abduction, Hague Conven­tion on Parental Responsibility and Measures of the Protection of Children, habitual residence


Author(s):  
Ruth Gaffney-Rhys

The Concentrate Questions and Answers series offers the best preparation for tackling exam and assignment questions. Each book includes key debates, typical questions, diagram answer plans, suggested answers, author commentary, and tips to gain extra marks. This chapter focuses on international relocation and child abduction. The first question is an essay question that considers the law relating to international relocation, ie how the English courts have dealt with applications to relocate out of the jurisdiction (eg Payne v Payne). The second is a problem question that requires the application of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects on International Child Abduction 1980 and the EU Regulations (BIIR), but also considers the law that applies if a child is taken to England and Wales from a country that has not ratified the Hague Convention.


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