Jeremy D. Morley
In a recent case in a state court in the
United States, I testified as an expert witness that in my opinion if a parent
were to relocate to Pakistan with the parties’ child, and were then to violate
the rights of the left-behind parent, then:
a.
The
courts in Pakistan would have exclusive jurisdiction under the laws of Pakistan
as to all matters concerning the custody of the child;
b.
The courts in Pakistan would not recognize the
continuing and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts in Michigan under Michigan
law as to such matters;
c.
The left-behind parent would be required to
initiate judicial proceedings in the courts in Pakistan in order to seek access
to the Child;
d.
The access provisions of the Hague Convention
on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction would not apply and, in
any event, would not be enforceable;
e.
Pakistan has been consistently non-compliant
with international norms concerning the return of children who are abducted to
Pakistan;
f.
The visitation rights in Pakistan of a parent
without residential custody of a child are usually limited to short
intermittent daytime visits in the close vicinity of the child’s place of
residence, often in a crowded courthouse or similar public place;
g.
There is no significant likelihood that a
court in Pakistan would order international visitation of the child;
h.
There is no significant likelihood that the
authorities in Pakistan would enforce an order requiring international
visitation to the United States over the objections of the Pakistani mother;
i.
Custody cases in Pakistan usually take several
years to complete;
j.
The legal system in Pakistan is subject to
endemic corruption;
k.
Any court proceeding in Pakistan concerning
access to the child would most likely be exceedingly slow, unpredictable and
difficult, and would likely require the repeated personal presence of the
left-behind parent over extended periods of time;
l.
In attempting to secure access to the child in
Pakistan, the left-behind parent would need to spend very considerable sums on
legal fees, travel costs and other expenses; and
m.
Pakistan is a place of significant physical
danger for American citizens.
Other expert witnesses offered evidence in
support of the request for relocation.
The court denied the request to relocate the
child to Pakistan.