Families Across Borders | law, policy, news and views
Hague Developments
Among other news from the Hague Conference this month: An informal “expert group” met on October 8-9, 2012 in The Hague and adopted recommendations regarding the financial aspects of intercountry adoption. The group endorsed and recommended some revisions to a “Discussion Paper on the Financial Aspects of Intercountry Adoption” prepared by the Permanent Bureau and available [...]
U.K. Joins Hague Child Protection Convention
The United Kingdom has deposited its instruments of ratification for the 1996 Hague Child Protection Convention, bringing the total number of Contracting States to 36, including most members of the European Union. The Convention will enter into force for the U.K. on November 1, 2012.
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 [...]
Special Commission Makes Recommendations
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: An exploratory experts’ group should be convened to identify and address the legal and practical issues related to the recognition and enforcement of agreements arrived at by [...]
Special Commission Reconvenes in The Hague
Part II of the Special Commission on the Practical Operation of the Hague Abduction and Child Protection Conventions begins on Wednesday, January 25, 2012 and continues through January 31 in The Hague. Rather than focusing primarily on the possibility of a protocol to the Abduction Convention, the meeting will focus on future work in three areas: enforceability [...]
Hague Conference seeks Legal Officer in International Family Law and Child Protection
Further information is available here; the deadline for applications is January 4, 2012. This is the posted job description: He or she will work in the areas of international family law and international child protection and be part of a team, under the direction of the responsible First Secretary, supporting the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention [...]
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 [...]
Special Commission on the Abduction Convention
After ten days of meetings in early June, the Special Commission convened in The Hague to discuss the practical operation of the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the 1996 Child Protection Convention issued this series of Conclusions and Recommendations. Statistical information gathered for the year 2008 from 60 countries, analyzed by Professor Nigel Lowe and [...]
EU signs Child Support Convention; Andorra joins Abduction Convention
During the annual General Affairs and Policy meeting of the Hague Conference, the European Union signed the 2007 Child Support Convention and announced that it will become party to the Convention, binding all EU member states, in 2012. At the same meeting, Andorra deposited its instruments of ratification for the Child Abduction Convention, becoming the 85th Contracting State. [...]
ACPIL Meeting on Abduction Convention Protocol
In preparation for the Special Commission meeting in June 2011 to review operation of the Hague Abduction Convention, the Office of Private International Law of the U.S. State Department has scheduled public meeting of the Advisory Committee on International Law for Friday, March 4, 2011, from 9:30 am to 1:30 pm in Room 1107 of the Harry S. Truman [...]
