Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

The Uniform Child Custody
Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act [UCCJEA]
and Domestic Violence: A Case Study
In April 2002, New York became the 15th of now 48 states to adopt the new
Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act [UCCJEA].
Replacing the prior statutory scheme known as the UCCJA (Uniform Child
Custody Jurisdiction Act), the UCCJEA is now codified at Article 5-A of the
Domestic Relations Law and contains important new provisions for victims of
domestic violence. While intended to discourage interstate kidnapping by a noncustodial
parent, the UCCJA did not distinguish between custodial interference
and instances in which a victim of domestic violence flees with her children in
order to secure safety from a batterer. With this new statutory scheme, the
drafters stated that:
It is the intent of the legislature in enacting this article to provide
an effective mechanism to obtain and enforce orders of custody
and visitation across state lines and to do so in a manner that
ensures that the safety of the children is paramount and that
victims of domestic violence and child abuse are protected. 1
The UCCJEA and Disputes of Foreign Origin
by Mary Rothwell Davis
Just six months after the UCCJEA took effect, the Bronx County Integrated
Domestic Violence (IDV) Court was presented with the first opportunity to
consider whether this statutory scheme permitted it to assume jurisdiction of an
ongoing custody matter involving allegations of domestic violence that had
originated in the Dominican Republic. 2 The IDV Court hears cases with both
criminal and family law matters involving allegations of domestic violence
within a family. In Hector G. v Josefina P., Mr. G. was arrested in the Bronx in
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