The International Hague Network of Judges now includes almost fifty members from more than 35 different countries. Four judges in the U.S. are members of thenetwork, including Judge Peter J. Messite of the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, Justice James Garbolino of the Superior Court of California, Circuit Judge Judith L.
International Judicial Conference on Family Relocation
Meeting in Washington D.C. last week, an international group of judges, Central Authority representatives and academics from 14 countries discussed approaches to cross-border family relocation and agreed to a set of principles known as the “Washington Declaration on International Family Relocation.” The meeting was sponsored by the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children and the Hague Conference on Private International Law and supported by the U.S.
Morocco Joins Child Abduction Convention
On March 9, Morocco deposited its instruments of accession to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. The treaty will enter in force in Morocco on June 1, 2010, but its accession will have effect only with respect to other treaty countries that declare their acceptance of this accession. Information from the Hague Conference is here.
Families Across Borders: The Hague Children’s Conventions and the Case for International Family Law in the United States
Here’s the abstract for my article, published in the January 2010 issue of the Florida Law Review, and available here in pdf format:
New Issue: International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family
Advance access to the April 2010 issue of the International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family is now available online. The issue includes these articles:
Paul Borghs and Bart Eeckhout on LGB Rights in Belgium, 1999–2007: A Historical Survey of a Velvet Revolution:
Liz Trinder, Alan Firth, and Christopher Jenks,‘So Presumably Things Have Moved on Since Then?’ The Management of Risk Allegations in Child Contact Dispute Resolution;
Practical Advice on Travel with Children
In the New York Times “Practical Traveller” column, Michelle Higgins writes about taking children abroad: “Stroller, Diapers, Paperwork.” The story includes a link to the State Department’s web site with information on the Children’s Passport Issuance Alert Program.
Commentary on the Abbott Oral Arguments
Here’s a sample of media commentary on the oral arguments yesterday in Abbott v. Abbott:
Mark Sherman (Associated Press): “Scalia (yes, Scalia) invokes foreign law in court.”
Dahlia Lithwick (Slate.com): “All in the Family: The Supreme Court plays nice over international child custody.”
Oral Argument in Abbott on January 12
A transcript of the oral argument in the U.S. Supreme Court in Abbott v. Abbott, held on January 12, is available on the Court’s web page later in the day. Here’s a link to the oral argument page; the docket number for the case is 08-645.
Texas Abduction Case Highlights Risks of ex parte Orders
A column by Veronica Flores-Paniagua in the San Antonio Express-News, Warning Signs Missed at Every Step in Custody Case, follows up on the abduction controversy in Texas that began with a state court’s ex parte order to remove a child from his mother’s custody.
Conclusion to Goldman Abduction Dispute
News media have been reporting an end to the long controversy over 9-year-old Sean Goldman, who was taken from New Jersey to Brazil by his mother for a visit in 2004 before she filed for divorce. Sean was kept in Brazil by his mother, and retained there by her family and second husband after the mother’s death last year. A federal appeals court ordered that the child be returned to his father, and a brief stay of that order has now been lifted by the Chief Justice of Brazil’s Supreme Court . Here’s