Tag Archive for: parental kidnapping

International Problems in Child Custody Disputes

All too often, one parent in a divorce refuses to accept a court’s child custody decision and takes matters into his or her own hands. With marriages between citizens of different countries becoming more common in the 21st century, the problem of international child abduction can present unique problems.

The most common scenario for international child abduction occurs when an American citizen marries a citizen of a foreign country and they have children together, but their marriage ends in divorce. When one of the parents takes the children to a foreign country in violation of a court order, an international child abduction has occurred.

The United States and more than 80 others nations have signed a treaty to prevent international child abduction, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. International law requires countries that signed the Hague Convention to recognize and enforce the child custody orders of other countries that have signed the treaty.

However, many Asian countries have not signed the Hague Convention, including some of America’s closest allies in the region. According to the U.S. State Department, Japan and India account for more than 300 cases of international child abduction, involving more than 400 children.

Once a child has been abducted to a country that has not signed the Hague Convention, a parent who has been left behind has very few remedies. In fact, one American parent recently spent 18 days in a Japanese prison after a failed attempt to bring his children back home.

There has been progress in many Asian countries. South Korea and Singapore have recently announced they will sign the Hague Convention. However, Japan and India have shown little indication that they do likewise. In our next post, we will discuss the phenomenon of international child abduction in more detail and the efforts that are underway to reunite American parents with their children.

Source: The Washington Post, “Japan, India pressed to curb child abductions,” David Crary, 12/7/2010

International Problems in Child Custody Disputes: Part II

The effects of a country’s refusal to sign the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction are profound. When a parent absconds with their children to a country like Japan or India even though there is an American child custody order in place, the foreign courts will ignore the previous child custody order and start over from scratch.

While both India and Japan recognize that child custody matters should be decided by looking to the best interests of the child, they have vastly different criteria than U.S. courts. For example, it is accepted practice in Japan that only one parent, usually the mother, should have sole custody of the child after a divorce.

Even some countries that have signed the Hague Convention will occasionally ignore an American child custody order. Last year, a case involving Brazil made headlines. In 2004, Sean Goldman’s mother took him from New Jersey to Brazil in violation of a New Jersey court order. In 2008, Sean’s mother died in Brazil, leaving the boy in the custody of her family. It was not until December 2009 and not until Brazil’s Supreme Court weighed in, that Sean was returned to his father.

Presently, there is a legislative effort underway to bring more pressure upon countries that ignore American child custody orders. New Jersey Congressman believes that the U.S. State Department’s diplomatic approach is falling short of reuniting parents with their children. Introducing a bill that would create the Office on International Child Abductions within the State Department and create a process for imposing economic sanctions on countries that are havens for international child abduction.

Source: The Washington Post, “Japan, India pressed to curb child abductions,” David Crary, 12/7/2010