MK Family Law

The Hague Conference's (HCCH) Council on General Affairs and Policy (the organization's governing body) holds an annual meeting, typically in March, to set forth an agenda for the organization's work over the coming year.  The meeting is attended by representatives of Member States.  Prior to each year's Council meeting, the Permanent Bureau (PB) staff prepare a variety of useful documents related to the organization's work .  There are a variety of family law topics on the Council agenda for the March 2021 (tentative) meeting.  Included among those topics is planning for the organization's next Special Commission meeting on the 1980 Child Abduction and 1996 Child Protection Conventions.  Special Commission meetings are scheduled once every (approximately) five years and serve as a meeting for Members and relevant international organizations to discuss the practical operation of a specific treaty.  The 1980 and 1996 Conventions are routinely packaged togeth...

Today marks an auspicious day in history.  It is the 40th anniversary of the 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention.  This highly successful treaty serves to promptly return children to their habitual residence after they are wrongfully removed or retained in another treaty partner country.   You can find the Hague Conference's resource page for all things Child Abduction by clicking here .  For practitioners, pay special attention to a few resources on this website, including the Country Profiles  (cheat sheets on the resources available in a country for the Child Abduction Convention), the Status Table (to see what countries have ratified, acceded, and what countries accepted accessions), and a link to INCADAT (the caselaw database on child abduction cases).  Be sure to explore the Guides to Good Practice, the Explanatory Report, and all the documents reviewed and discussed as part of the Special Commission meetings (held about every 5 years to discu...