ABA BOOK: The Hague Abduction Convention: Practical Issues and Procedures for the Family Lawyer

Announcing the Publication of The Hague Abduction Convention: Practical Issues and Procedures for the Family Lawyer by Jeremy D. Morley

A NEWLY RELEASED BOOK PUBLISHED BY  BY THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION

Every family lawyer should understand the workings of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Family law is becoming increasingly internationalized as the world is shrinking, international relationships are increasing and international travel is growing. Clients who fear that their children may be abducted, or who worry about allowing their children to travel overseas, or who are contemplating international marriage or international divorce expect their family lawyer to be conversant with the treaty.

The Hague Abduction Convention tells family lawyers how this critical treaty works in the United States, both in theory and in practice. The renowned author, Jeremy D. Morley, has enormous experience counseling clients and fellow practitioners as to international family law matters globally, as well as lecturing on international child custody law to audiences around the world.

The Convention is misunderstood by many family lawyers, and judges may not be fully aware of the law and the voluminous case law that has developed around it. It operates in the United States in ways that are significantly different than in other Hague countries due to federal legislation that implements the treaty, the concurrence of federal and state jurisdiction, the uniform state legislation on child custody jurisdiction and a host of other factors.

This book provides a much-needed practical resource for U.S. practitioners that explains the operation of the treaty in American courts, both federal and state, and unravels the relationship between the Hague Convention, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act and foreign child custody laws. Focusing mostly on what are sometimes called "incoming" abductions, or abductions from other countries into the U.S., The Hague Abduction Convention begins with a brief overview of the Convention. Subsequent chapters address the issues of primary concern for practitioners:

• Procedural and practical issues


• The threshold issue of establishing the child's "habitual residence"


• Rights custody


• Provisions regarding consent and acquiescence to the child's removal


• The "one-year-and-settled" exception


• The role of the child's objection to the return


• The critical "grave risk of harm" exception


• The human rights exception


• International relocation and travel