Lawyers Manual - Unified Court System

132 Betsy Tsai
list of Hague Convention party countries and their effective dates with the US
can be found on the US Department of State’s website, which is a valuable
resource for many Hague Convention issues. 3
Purpose
The primary purpose of the Hague Convention is to effect the prompt return
of abducted children to their countries of habitual residence. The focus of the
Hague Convention is on remedying wrongful removals rather than deciding
custody issues. The Hague Convention does not allow Contracting States to hear
the merits of any underlying custody disputes, thereby creating a disincentive
for parents to abduct their children in search of more favorable jurisdictions.
The objects of the Hague Convention are only “(a) to secure the prompt return
of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any Contracting State; and (b)
to ensure that rights of custody and of access under the law of one Contracting
State are effectively respected in the other Contracting States.” 4
Application of the Hague Convention
What is the Central Authority?
Each Contracting State must establish a Central Authority whose functions
include cooperating with Central Authorities in other Contracting States, attempting
to locate an abducted child, coordinating Hague Convention applications requesting
the return of a child from other countries, initiating legal proceedings, and securing
counsel for foreign litigants. The United States has designated the Department of
State’s Office of Children’s Issues as the Central Authority. The National Center for
Missing and Exploited Children processes applications requesting the return of
children in the United States on behalf of the State Department. 5
When Does the Hague Convention Apply?
The Convention has a number of limitations. First, the Hague Convention
applies only between Contracting States, so if a parent abducts the child to a
country that is not a signatory to the Hague Convention, these provisions do not
apply. Second, the Hague Convention applies only to children under sixteen
years of age. Finally, the child must have been habitually resident in a
Contracting State immediately prior to the removal by the parent.