International child abduction: #Divorce podcast, episode 108

On January 21, 2025, Sarah-Jane Tasteyre and Audrey Zeitoun invited me onto episode 108 of the #Divorce podcast, devoted to international child abduction. The episode is in French; here are the questions we covered and the gist of my answers.

Listen to the episode · 42 min · in French

Podcast · 42 min · February 4, 2025Listen onSpotify ↗Apple Podcasts ↗

What is international child abduction?

In legal terms, it is a wrongful removal or retention: a parent takes the child to another country, or keeps the child there, in breach of the other parent’s rights of custody under the law of the country where the child habitually lived immediately before (Hague Convention of October 25, 1980, Art. 3).

In the cases I see, it is often a parent, most often the mother, returning to her home country after an expatriation or a breakdown of the marriage.

The principle: the child’s return

The 1980 Hague Convention rests on two mechanisms: the prompt return of the child to the country of habitual residence, and cooperation between the Central Authorities of the countries that have ratified it. Those authorities must also help bring about an amicable resolution (Art. 7).

Return is not guaranteed. The court may refuse it if there is a grave risk that return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm (Art. 13(1)(b)), or if the child objects and has reached an age and degree of maturity at which their views should be taken into account (Art. 13(2)). Where proceedings start more than a year after the removal, return may be refused if the child is shown to be settled in the new environment (Art. 12). The child’s best interests are always assessed case by case, and the child may be heard.

First steps

A parent who discovers that their child has been taken abroad must act quickly: consult a lawyer, contact the Central Authority (in France, the Ministry of Justice), bring the matter before the competent court, and consider mediation alongside. The parent should also object to the removal in writing: that written objection matters later in the proceedings.

Not every country has ratified the Convention. If the child is taken to a non-member country, return becomes uncertain: the parent must ask a court to decide where the child should live, and then have that decision recognized in the country where the child is.

Preventing an abduction

When a departure is imminent, a parent with parental authority can ask the prefecture for an emergency travel ban (opposition à la sortie du territoire, OST), valid for 15 days at most (service-public.gouv.fr). For lasting protection, the family court judge can prohibit the child from leaving France without both parents’ consent (French Civil Code, Art. 373-2-6).

Lawyers and mediators: negotiating for the child

In these cases, the child becomes a hostage of the conflict. The role of lawyers and mediators is to negotiate and calm things down, so the child keeps a relationship with both parents. International family mediation can run alongside the return proceedings.

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