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The U.S. State Department has
just issued its 2017 Annual Report on International Parental Child Abduction
under the International Child Abduction Prevention and Return Act (ICAPRA). The
following is the Country Summary and related information from the twelfth
country listed as “Noncompliant” in the report, Romania:
Country Summary:
The United States and Romania have been partners under the Hague Abduction
Convention since 1993. In 2016, Romania demonstrated a pattern of
noncompliance. Specifically, the law enforcement authorities in Romania
persistently failed to implement and abide by the provisions of the Hague
Abduction Convention. For example, in one case the authorities have failed to
enforce a return order that was issued in 2011. Romania has been cited as
non-compliant since 2015.
Central Authority:
While the United States and the Romanian Central Authority have a cooperative
relationship, periodic delays in the processing of cases and inconsistent
communication impacted the timely resolution of Convention cases.
Voluntary Resolution:
The Convention states that central authorities “shall take all appropriate
measures to secure the voluntary return of the child or to bring about an amicable
resolution of the issues.” In 2016, one abduction case was resolved through
voluntary means.
Location: The
competent authorities took appropriate steps to help locate a child after a
Convention application was filed. On average, it took less than one week to
locate a child. In one case, however, the children disappeared after the
initial location effort and it took the authorities several months to locate
them.
Judicial Authorities:
The judicial authorities of Romania routinely reached timely decisions in
accordance with the Convention.
Enforcement:
Judicial decisions in Convention cases in Romania were not enforced unless the
taking parent voluntarily complied with a return order. In addition, if the
child expressed a desire to remain with the taking parent, authorities were not
able to enforce judicial decisions in Convention cases.
Access: In 2016,
there were no open access cases.
Department
Recommendations: The Department will intensify engagement with the Romanian
authorities to address significant issues of concern and expand public
diplomacy activities related to the resolution of cases. The Department also
recommends an emphasis on preventing abductions.
