Following its mandate to report annually to Congress, the Office of Children’s Issues (OCI) in the U.S.
Interesting Hague Abduction Decision in the 7th Circuit
Judge Richard Posner’s recent opinion in Khan v. Fatima considers the obligations of a trial court judge under Fed.R.Civ.P.
New Projects for the Hague Conference
The Conclusions and Recommendations adopted by the Hague Conference General Affairs Council at its meeting in April 2012 include two interesting new projects in connection with the Child Abduction and Child Protection Conventions. The Council authorized a new Working Group to develop a Guide to Good Practice on the interpretation and application of Article 13(b) of the Abduction Convention which allows a court to deny a return order where there is a s
Infant Abductions Investigated in Spain
An inquiry has begun in Spain into allegations of infant snatching beginning during the Franco regime in the 1950s and continuing into the 1990s. Children were alleged to have been given or sold for adoption; at least 1500 claims have been made with some cases confirmed by DNA testing after children were grown. See Raphael Minder, “Spain Opens Court Inquiry on Newborn Abductions” (
Updates from the State Department
These come by way of the ABA FAmily Law Section’s International Law Committee:
* There are some position changes affecting the Hague Convention Attorney Network. Patricia Hoff continues as the legal assistance coordinator. Beth Cooper recently became Incoming Abductions Branch Chief in the Office of Children¹s Issues.
Special Commission Makes Recomendations
Winding up its work on January 31, the Special Commission on the practical operation of the Hague Child Abduction and Child Protection Conventions, made a series of recommendations including these:
Agenda Set for Hague Special Commission Meeting
The Hague Conference has announced details for Part II of the Special Commission meeting, which began in June 2011, on the operation of the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Child Protection Convention. Part II of the meeting, which will focus on policy issues rather than the practical operation of the conventions, will take place in The Hague from Wednesday, January 25 to Tuesday, January 31, 2012. Based on consultations with member countries, the Hague Conference reports that “although there is no consensus for a protocol to the 1980 Convention, there is significant agreeme
Hearing on Child Abduction in the House
The House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health and Human Rights convened a hearing on July 28, 2011 to address ”Improving Implementation of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.” Witnesses included two members of the State Department: Susan Jacobs, special adviser for children’s issues, in the Bureau of Consular Affairs, and Kurt Campbell, assistant secretary of State, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs.
Russia Joins Child Abduction Convention
On July 28, 2011, the Russian Federation deposited its instruments of accession to the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention, which will come into force in Russia in October 2011. The Convention will not come into effect between the United States and Russia until the U.S. indicates its acceptance of Russia’s accession. The announcement from the Hague Conference is here.