Multi-jurisdictional perspectives : the law and practice of child abduction

Abstract

Separation and custody disputes give rise to highly charged emotions and irrationality, which sometimes override the parent’s ability to consider the best interests of their minor children. Since child abduction laws hail from multiple jurisdictions, it is almost impossible for there to be comprehensive all-inclusive universal laws governing the crimes of child abduction. The central focus of this study will be transnational child custody disputes. To that end, the study will explore the difficulty in striking a balance between making fair arrangements for the parents involved who wish to reside in different countries for a multitude of different reasons and the best interests of the child. This study will also examine mechanisms of international justice concerning the law and child abduction and may serve as a practical guide to summarize the legal protection and framework for children who are victims of abduction. This study will also explore the critical gap of accountability of crimes against children at an international law level. The primary international instruments that will be examined are the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, and the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This research will delve into signatories and non-signatories to this Convention, how much relevance is given to the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child when this treaty is ratified by states, and to what extent international, national legal and social authorities cooperate for the purposes of the settlement of international custody disputes.