News & Events
News and Events
27-31 August 2007
The Hague
Dialogue between judges and experts from the Francophone African Region to promote the Hague Conventions
Judges of the high jurisdictions of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Chad, Côte d'Ivoire, Egypt, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mali, Morocco, Mauritius, Mauritania, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, Togo, Tunisia and experts from the Association Africaine des Hautes Juridictions Francophones (AAHJF), the Association des Hautes Juridictions de Cassation des Pays ayant en Partage l'Usage de Français (AHJUCAF), the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the Organisation pour l'harmonisation en afrique du droit des affaires (OHADA), the African Union, the Union Internationale des Huissiers de Justice et Officiers Judiciaires (UIHJ) as well as Liaison Judges from Belgium, Canada, France and the Netherlands participated in the Francophone African Judges Seminar...MORE...(Click on Link Below)
http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=events.details&year=2007&varevent=134
Effective February 1, 2008, passport applicants who are U.S. citizen minors under the age of 16 must appear personally with both parents, or legal guardians, to establish consent of both parents to issuance of a passport, as well as identity, proof of citizenship, and proof of relationship. Previously this rule applied only to children under the age of 14.
http://travel.state.gov/family/abduction/Solutions/Solutions_3859.html
Beginning April 1, 2008, the Office of Children’s Issues will assume the handling of all “incoming” cases under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of Parental Child Abduction – that is, abductions of children from foreign countries to the United States. Incoming cases were previously handled by the National Center of Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The Department of State has greatly appreciated the excellent service that NCMEC has provided in these cases to parents and children. The Office of Children’s Issues aims to continue this high level of service.
Effective April 1, 2008, parents in Convention countries whose children have been wrongfully removed to the United States—or wrongfully retained in the United States—should file an application for return or access with our office. Contact our office for more information.
http://travel.state.gov/family/abduction/Solutions/Solutions_3859.html
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A PARENT who decides to leave Cyprus with his or her children without first seeking the approval of their other half could soon be subject to criminal prosecution.
In its January 3 sitting, the Cabinet approved a bill submitted by the Justice Ministry that is set to alter the Penal Code. The proposed law will be submitted to the House Legal Committee for examination and approval.
The bill’s aim is to alter current laws in a way that will regulate when it is legal for a parent to leave the Republic with an underage child without first securing the consent of the child’s other parent.
“State authorities, in the past few years, following an influx of marriages between Cypriots and foreigners, have been facing problems dealing with situations where one of the two parents, who is exercising joint custody, decides to transport an underage child or children to another country without the other parent’s consent,” a Cabinet press release stated yesterday.
“The current chapter 245 of the law does not cover incidents of an underage child’s kidnapping by a person who has joint custody, so the Penal Code amendment is considered necessary in order to prosecute the described criminal acts,” it added.
By Jacqueline Theodoulou
Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2008
http://www.hcch.net/upload/wop/abd_pd05e2006.pdf
“Feasibility study on cross-border mediation in family matters”, of March 2007, drawn up by the Permanent Bureau
http://www.hcch.net/upload/wop/genaff_pd20e2007.pdf
2007 compliance report for the 1980 hague convention on. the civil aspects of international child abduction.
travel.state.gov/pdf/child_
New Legislation Sought To Assist Parents Whose
Children Have Been Taken To Other Countries
At present agencies seeking to recover children who have been abducted to foreign countries have had to deal with a great deal of apathy and inefficiency on the part of the US Government when requesting help. A concerted effort is under way to pass legislation, called the Support the Parental Abduction Recovery, Enforcement, and Network Training Act (The PARENT Act), which would greatly strengthen the hands of those attempting to recover such children. A petition drive is underway to show support for this legislation.
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/support-the-parent-act.html
09/01/2007 - Ukraine Becomes the Newest Convention partnerThe Department of State recently announced that it would accept the accession of Ukraine to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Ukraine becomes the 63rd country that is partner to the Convention with the United States. The Convention entered into force between the United States and Ukraine on September 1, 2007. Parents whose children have been wrongfully removed/retained between the United States and Ukraine on or after that date will be able to file a Hague application for return of their child (as long as all the Convention requirements are met).
06/01/2007 - The Convention Enters Into Force with the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Peru
On June 1, 2007, the 1980 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction entered into force between the United States and the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Peru. They become the 60th, 61st, and 62nd countries that the United States partners with under the Convention. The Convention will not apply to parental child abduction cases between the U.S. and these countries that took place prior to June 1, 2007. Wrongful retentions or removals that occurred after June 1 may qualify to be Hague Abductions.
05/01/2007 - The United States Accepts Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania as Convention Partners
The Department of State recently informed the Hague Permanent Bureau that it is accepting the respective accessions of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania to the 1980 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The Convention enters into force between the United States and each of the three nations on May 1, 2007. With the acceptance of the three Baltic States, the United States now partners with 59 countries under the Hague Abduction Convention.
03/01/2007 - Montenegro Succeeds to the Hague Abduction Convention
On March 1, 2007, Montenegro became the 67th Member of the Hague Conference on Private International Law. On this same date, Montenegro also succeeded to various Hague Conventions to which the former Serbia and Montenegro was already a Party, including the 1980 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Since the Convention was already in force between the United States and the former Serbia and Montenegro (as it had been with the former Republic of Yugoslavia) the Convention is in force between the U.S. and Montenegro. Montenegro becomes the 56th country that is party to the Convention with the United States.
Nancy Faulkner, Ph.D. presents the effects of parental abduction on children. This report has been translated into several languages and was presented to the United Nations on behalf of P.A.R.E.N.T.
U.S. Central Authority site. Information and instruction on putting a passport alert on a child's American passport. This is part of abduction prevention efforts.
U.S. Department of State site. Information regarding persons holding more than one citizenship or nationality.
American Passport information. Designed for legal professionals involved in cases of international child abduction.