Posts
Jeremy D. Morley
1.
Kyrgyzstan
does not comply with international norms concerning the return of
internationally abducted children. The primary method of obtaining the return
of an internationally-abducted child is by means of an application under the
Hague Abduction Convention. It is the public policy of the United States that
all countries should adhere to the Hague Convention or enter into bilateral
arrangements to return abducted children. Kyrgyzstan has failed to sign the
Convention or enter into any bilateral agreement concerning the return of
internationally abducted children.
2.
The refusal
to accede to the Hague Convention or enter into any bilateral arrangements
concerning the return of abducted children constitutes an extremely strong red
flag that a country does not consider the abduction of children from other
countries to be a serious matter, that it does not comply with international
norms concerning international child abduction, and that it is most unlikely to
follow a foreign court’s orders concerning either custody or visitation.
3.
It is exceedingly difficult to return children from non-Hague
countries. If a
child is abducted to a non-Hague country the United States Embassy in that
country and the U.S. State Department have no power to secure the child’s return.
4.
There can be no extradition from Kyrgyzstan for
international child abduction, since there is no extradition treaty between the
U.S. and Kyrgyzstan.
5.
A
left-behind parent’s only potential remedy in Kyrgyzstan would be to initiate a
plenary custody case in Kyrgyzstan. It would
be necessary to stay in Kyrgyzstan in order to do so. There is no precedent for the
return of an abducted child from Kyrgyzstan and no basis to expect that the courts in Kyrgyzstan would enforce a foreign custody
order.
6.
Many authoritative
agencies reliably report that the level of judicial and other corruption in
Kyrgyzstan is among the highest in the world. One such agency ranks Kyrgyzstan
as one of the most uncompetitive countries in the world due in large part to
its “off the charts” level of corruption.
7.
The
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has held that a petitioning Kyrgyz
asylum application should have been granted because the petitioner’s testimony
as to extensive police corruption in Kyrgyzstan was credible and corroborated,
and was supported by findings of the U.S. State Department.
8.
The Law
of the Kyrgyz Republic on External Migration provides that a person under the
age of eighteen may exit the country only upon the written and notarized
request of his/her legal representatives, or by a Kyrgyz court order. Article
46 of the Law further provides that anyone may be prevented from leaving the
Kyrgyz Republic if there is a pending civil suit against him.
