Croatia, Haiti and Serbia joined the Hague Adoption Convention in December 2013. It will come into effect in all three countries on April 1, 2014, bringing the number of Contracting States to 93. The Hague Conference announcement is available here.
US Supreme Court takes another Hague Abduction Case
At the end of its term last week, the U.S. Supreme court granted review in Lozano v. Alvarez to consider the issue of “equitable tolling” in cases under Article 12 of the Hague Child Abduction Convention. The opinion from the Second Circuit, which refused to permit tolling, is at 697 F.3d 41 (2d Cir.
UCCJEA Amendments Proposed for International Cases
At its annual meeting in July, the Uniform Law Commission will take up proposed amendments to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act (UCCJEA), designed to assist the United States in implementation of the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.
Japan votes to ratify Child Abduction Convention
With a unanimous vote today in the upper house of the Diet, Japan’s parliament has agreed to ratification of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. News outlets reporting the developments in Japan include the BBC, Wall Street Journal,
Hague Update
Lots of news this Spring from the Hague Conference., which announced in March that Cristophe Bernasconi will be the new Secretary General when Hans Van Loon retires at the end of June.
Preview 2013: Chafin v. Chafin
The United States Supreme Court is expected to rule this spring on Chafin v. Chafin, a case under the Hague Child Abduction Convention that was argued on December 5. Previous posts are here and here.
Korea joins Abduction Convention
With the accession of the Republic of Korea earlier this month, the Hague Child Abduction Convention now has a total of 89 contracting states. The Convention will enter into force in Korea on March 1, 2013.
Hague Abduction Arguments in Supreme Court
This week marked the second appearance of the Hague Child Abduction Convention in the U.S. Supreme Court, with the oral arguments in Chafin v. Chafin (see my previous post here).
Hague Developments
Among other news from the Hague Conference this month:
New Supreme Court Term
The U.S. Supreme Court begins its new Term today with a Hague Child Abduction case on the docket, set for argument on Wednesday, December 5, 2012. Chafin v.