With a focus on the 1980 Hague Convention, this cutting-edge Research Handbook provides a holistic overview of the law on international child abduction from prevention, through voluntary agreements and Convention proceedings, to post-return and aftercare issues. Discussing the repercussions of abduction from the perspectives of both abducted children and the therapeutic and family justice professionals engaged in their cases, chapters consider the contributions of the many professionals and key agencies involved in the field. Identifying the 1980 Hague Convention as the principal global instrument for dealing with child abduction, the Research Handbook traces its role, history, development and impact, alongside the mechanisms required for its effective use. Evaluating current trends, areas of concern in legal/judicial practice and various regional initiatives, it also considers alternatives to high-conflict court proceedings in international child abduction cases. The Convention’s strengths, successes, weaknesses and gaps are discussed, and the Research Handbook concludes by addressing how best to tackle the challenges in its future operation. Interdisciplinary and accessible in approach, the contributions from renowned subject specialists will prove useful to students and scholars of human rights and family law, international law and the intersections between law and gender studies, politics and sociology. Its combination of research, policy and practice will be of value to legal practitioners working in family law alongside NGOs and central authorities active in the field.

Table of Contents:
Contents: Foreword xvii Acknowledgements xix Spelling, reference or style conventions xx List of abbreviations xxi PART I INTRODUCTION AND KEY THEMES 1 Introduction and key themes 2 Nicola Taylor and Marilyn Freeman PART II THE IMPACTS OF INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION 2 Long-term reflections of a former milk carton kid 19 Sarah Cecilie Finkelstein Waters 3 Ghosts in our genes: Psychological issues in child abduction and high conflict cases 30 Sarah Calvert PART III THE 1980 HAGUE CONVENTION – HISTORY AND LONGITUDINAL TRENDS 4 The global effort to deter parental kidnapping: A history of the Hague Child Abduction Convention 47 Linda Elrod 5 The value and challenges of statistical studies looking at the operation of the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 63 Nigel Lowe and Victoria Stephens PART IV THE 1980 HAGUE CONVENTION – IMPLEMENTATION AND OPERATIONALISATION 6 The role of the Permanent Bureau in the operation of the HCCH 1980 Child Abduction Convention 80 Gérardine Goh Escolar 7 Fleeing for safety: Helping battered mothers and their children using Article 13(1)(b) 97 Jeffrey Edleson, Sudha Shetty and Mary Fata 8 Child participation and the child objection exception 116 Rhona Schuz 9 Judicial activism: A 20-year evolution 132 Sir Mathew Thorpe PART V INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION IN SELECTED GEOGRAPHICAL REGIONS 10 The European Court of Human Rights 150 Thalia Kruger and Sara Lembrechts 11 The Court of Justice of the European Union and international abduction of children 164 Costanza Honorati 12 International child abduction in Aotearoa New Zealand, Australia and the Pacific: Similarities and differences 180 Mark Henaghan, Christian Poland and Clement Kong 13 The 1980 Convention comes of age in the United States 192 Stephen Cullen and Kelly Powers 14 International child abduction in Asia 201 Yuko Nishitani 15 International child abduction in Africa 219 Julia Sloth-Nielsen 16 The Caribbean and international child abduction – this is my child: catch me if you can! 233 Diahann Gordon Harrison PART VI NON-HAGUE CONVENTION COUNTRIES 17 International child abduction and non-Hague Convention countries 245 Jeremy Morley 18 International child abduction in India 265 Anil Malhotra and Ranjit Malhotra PART VII KEY PERSPECTIVES ON INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION AND HAGUE CONVENTION PROCEEDINGS 19 The CRC perspective in the context of international child abduction and the 1980 Hague Convention 280 Ann Skelton 20 The continuing challenge of the 1980 Hague Convention – a judicial perspective 299 The Honourable Mr Justice Alistair MacDonald 21 Legal perspective: Remedying international child abduction – the impact of international developments upon the English legal approach 314 Henry Setright KC and Michael Gration KC 22 International child abduction from the perspective of a Central Authority under the 1980 Hague Convention 332 Joëlle Schickel-Küng and Anna Claudia Alfieri 23 NGO/support services perspective: The importance of an independent specialist centre on international family conflicts 346 Suzanne Labadie 24 Cross-border family mediation in parental child abduction cases 368 Ischtar Khalaf-Newsome PART VIII REFLECTIONS AND FUTURE DIRECTIONS 25 Whither the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention? 388 Nigel Lowe KC (Hon) 26 Nurturing the 1980 Hague Abduction Convention 404 Marilyn Freeman and Nicola Taylor 430 Index