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How the Hague Convention protects abducted children’s interests

| Mar 13, 2015 | Modifications and Relocation

Child custody is often a sensitive and bitter battle between estranged biological parents of minor children. In many cases, a Tennessee family judge may decide that the best interest of the children is to give sole custody to one parent or joint custody with primary custody to one parent who may relocate an inconvenient distance from the non-custodial parent. Many biological parents are often desperate to spend more time with their children. In many cases, parents have abducted their own children out of frustration with a court ruling.

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction was formulated to help parents whose children have been abducted and taken across international borders. Many parents find it beneficial to consult professional legal help in order to understand the intricacies of international child protection laws and what is needed to get back their children.

Under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, it is a general rule that child custodial issues must be decided by the appropriate court with the jurisdiction of the state or country in which the minor child lives.

Every nation is a sovereign state with its own rules and laws that may address international abduction of children by biological parents in a different manner. Countries which have signed the Hague convention are typically guided by the principles that compose the charter.

An international kidnapping would then go to the country’s central authority maintained under the directions of the Hague Convention. The central authority may even help the biological parent search for the minor child within its borders. The central authority may also aid in reaching an amicable settlement between the estranged parents to facilitate the well-being of the minor child and gain modification of the custody agreement to avoid further conflicts.

Source: Berkeley.edu, “The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction,” Accessed on March 6, 2015

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