The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (1980), is a civil legal mechanism available to parents seeking the return of, or access to, their children who have been wrongful removed or retained in another country that is a party to the Convention.

The Convention seeks to deal fairly and speedily with cases of parental child abduction across borders. But it does not work as well as it was originally intended.

One of the difficulties is that court orders made in one country are not necessarily recognised or enforced in another.

PACT and ICMEC are working together to ensure a better and more consistent application of the Hague convention - English / French / German / Spanish (PDF, Acrobat Reader required).

Hague Permanent Bureau’s Guide to Good Practice, Part I / Part II / Part III (PDF, Acrobat Reader required).

About the Hague Convention The Hague Convention - Exceptions and Other Pitfalls What the Hague Convention Can and Cannot Do

The Hague Convention