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Hong Kong appears to be strengthening its commitment
to the Hague Abduction Convention process. The focus on tougher exit controls
to discourage international child abduction stands in sharp contrast to the
U.S. “open borders / no exit controls” policy that greatly hinders U.S. efforts
to deter international child abduction.
See the following announcement (July 11, 2013) from
the Hong Kong Government:
The Child Abduction Legislation (Miscellaneous
Amendments) Bill 2013 will be gazetted tomorrow (July 12). The Bill seeks to
implement the recommendations of the Report on International Parental Child
Abduction (the Report) published by the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong
(LRC) and to better support the operation of the Hague Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Hague Convention).
The Hague Convention, which has been given the force of law in Hong Kong since
September 1997 by the Child Abduction and Custody Ordinance (Cap.512), provides
that children abducted from one contracting state to another should be located
and returned to their home jurisdictions as quickly as possible.
The Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Mr Matthew Cheung Kin-chung, said,
"The LRC's review aims at improving Hong Kong's current legal protection
against international parental child abduction."
Noting that the Report aims to help prevent children from being abducted out of
Hong Kong by one of the parents, Mr Cheung said, "The recommendations will
help prevent parental child abduction which usually occurs when a relationship
between two parents breaks down and one of them absconds with the child to
another jurisdiction. As pointed out by the LRC, when a child is abducted, he
or she suffers the trauma of being taken away from home, and from the custodial
parent and other family members.
We are also concerned that such abduction will be a harrowing experience for
the child's left-behind family.
"The legislative amendments will minimise the likelihood of such an
occurrence. One of the key amendments in the Bill is to provide a specific
power to the local law enforcement agencies to hold a child suspected of being
abducted at any border control points so that the child can be returned to the
custodial parent or taken to a place of safety."
The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first and second
readings on July 17.
The LRC has reviewed the existing legislation in Hong Kong relating to child
abduction as well as the relevant laws of England and Wales, Scotland, Ireland
and Australia and made a total of six recommendations. The recommendations
include the introduction of legislative restrictions on removing a child from
Hong Kong without the required consent; a specific power to the court to order
the disclosure of the whereabouts of a child and to order the recovery of a
child; a specific power to the authorities to hold a child suspected of being
abducted so that he can be returned to the custodial parent or taken to a place
of safety, etc.
The Report is the second in a series of four reports published by the LRC on
guardianship and custody of children.
The first report on Guardianship of Children was followed up by the Labour and
Welfare Bureau (LWB), resulting in the enactment of the Guardianship of Minors
(Amendment) Bill 2012. The third report on the Family Dispute Resolution
Process is being followed up by the Home Affairs Bureau. For the fourth report
on Child Custody and Access, the LWB has decided to take steps to work out the
legislative proposals and other implementation arrangements.
