The Hague Abduction Convention:
Practical Issues and Procedures for Family Lawyers
by Jeremy D. Morley
404 pp.; $149
ABA Publishing, 2012
321 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610-4714
(800) 285-2221; www.ababooks.org
404 pp.; $149
ABA Publishing, 2012
321 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60610-4714
(800) 285-2221; www.ababooks.org
Reviewed
by Stephen A. Braunlich
Stephen A. Braunlich is a U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate
stationed at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, where he serves as Chief of
Administrative Discharges—(757) 784-5532, sabraunlich@gmail.com. The views
expressed are his own and are not endorsed by the U.S. Air Force or the
Department of Defense.
A family law attorney—and even a district
judge—may go his or her entire career having never dealt with the issue of
international child abduction. Should
the issue ever arise, there would be no better book to have on a law library
shelf than Jeremy Morley’s The
Hague Abduction Convention: Practical Issues and Procedures for Family Lawyers.
Morley, an international family law attorney working in New York, has applied
his experience with the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction (Convention) to write a trenchant and valuable guide useful to
advocates and adjudicators.
The Convention deals with a narrow question of
law: when must a child who was abducted from a country in which a person other
than the abductor had a right of custody be returned to that country? This is a
narrow question, and it is one that could have incredible implications. For
example, many child abductions frequently arise from mothers fleeing domestic
violence. In other cases, custodial parents in international relationships find
the relationship does not work and one parent then tries to find a way home
with his or her child or children. The children caught in these situations may
be subjected to psychological and even physical harm. Therefore, any attorney
dealing with an international child abduction will want to make sure he or she
has a firm grasp of the applicable law. Morley gives them that grasp.
The book’s structure is sensible and
utilitarian. It opens with the Convention’s history, policy rationales, and
processes (at a very high level of generality). Morley explains the
requirements a petitioner must meet to make a claim under the Convention: that
the petitioner has custody rights and that the child was taken from a country
of habitual residence. Having explained the basis for petitions under the
Convention, Morley next turns to common shields to defend against petitions.
The book’s substantive sections close by considering situations in which a
habitual residence is not a signatory to the Convention or mere international
travel may turn into international child abduction. Several appendixes containing
the Convention, enabling legislation, and the official commentary follow the
substantive sections.
The strongest selling point of the book is the
author’s ability to guide readers through American and international case law
for the benefit of both petitioners and respondents. For any of the issues in
which there is a divergence of law, the reader finds the most frequently cited
cases in favor of and opposing each of the viewpoints. Where the law is clear
but fact-driven, Morley provides citations to cases that draw out key analogous
facts for the advocate representing the petitioner or respondent in an
abduction case. In doing so, he eases the path forward for attorneys unfamiliar
with this area of law.
The book’s target audience is attorneys
litigating international child abduction cases; however, it also is a
worthwhile read for anyone advising immigrants, prospective expatriates, and
service members. For example, a client in these groups with children may have
orders to make a permanent change of station overseas or may decide to move
home. Proactive attorneys may preempt Convention litigation by ensuring that
parenting plans for these clients include consent to bring a child overseas or,
in the alternative, expressly withholding that consent. At the very least, this
will build a record for later petitions under the Convention.
If there is one criticism that can be lodged
against the publication it is that the accompanying CD adds little if any
value, and simply may drive up the retail cost of the book. The CD merely
provides electronic access to the seven appendixes in PDF format. The
information otherwise can be found online through a simple electronic search or
it should be familiar to a family law practitioner (as in the case of the
Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act).
Morley has provided an excellent resource that
is especially beneficial for family law attorneys. It will be a tool they turn
to either to find guidance for that rare international child abduction case or
to find guidance for counseling prevention of an abduction.