Even in countries who are signatories to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction, parental abduction can be difficult to remedy. Consider this post from International Family Law: South Africa’s Court of Appeal has blasted the failure of the courts below to order the prompt return of a child, now aged five, who was wrongfully...Read More

Kansas is the 5th state to adopt The Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act, International Family Law reports at Preventing International Child Abduction: The Uniform Child Abduction Prevention Act – which includes some specific provisions designed to prevent international child abduction – was signed into law in Kansas on April 6, 2007. Kansas is the fourth...Read More

The Family Law Professor’s Blog has linked to an insightful and troubling article published by the New York Times. A quoted excerpt from the profs: “They are the hidden side of the government’s stepped-up efforts to track down and deport illegal immigrants: Toddlers stranded at day care centers or handed over to ill-equipped relatives. Siblings...Read More

I have seen several articles recently reporting how difficult it can be to retrieve a child who has been abducted by a parent to Japan. See, for example, a page at the U.S.Read More

Taveras v. Taveraz, __ F.3d __ (6th Cir. 2007), 2007 WL 494928 (C.A.6 (Ohio) Issue and Holding: Whether the district court had subject matter jurisdiction over the parental child abduction action pursuant to the Alien Tort Statute. The Court held no, the district court did not have jurisdiction. Facts:Read More

From The Family Law Prof Blog: Italian Government Approves Bill to Grant Legal Rights to Cohabitants. Whether their parliment will pass it appears to be a coin toss.Read More

Jeremy Morley at International Family Law reports: The abduction of children from the United States is facilitated by the lack of exit controls at U.S. borders. A lawsuit just filed in Massachusetts against Continental Airlines may help shift at least some of the responsibility onto the airlines.Read More

The U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention announces A Family Resource Guide on International Parental Kidnapping . It offers practical and detailed advice about preventing international kidnapping and increasing the chance that children who are kidnapped or wrongfully retained will be returned.Read More

From The Age in Australia: “The first 14 Family Relationship Centres are opening around Australia, signalling the start of what the federal government hopes will be a landmark shift in family law.The government is establishing dozens of the centres across Australia in an attempt to resolve divorce and custody disputes before they reach court.Acting Attorney-General...Read More

Australia’s new national revamping of its family child custody and support law is garnering international attention. “As sweeping changes to Australia’s family law system take effect today, putting new emphasis on children spending equal time with parents after separation, research shows some children can be seriously harmed by 50:50 arrangements.” Sydney Morning Herald. From ABC...Read More