Child Abduction and Hague Treaty Kidnapping

Child Abduction or child kidnapping cases normally occur during a child custody dispute when one parent decides to take the law into their own hands, and flee the jurisdiction with the child, or children who are the subject of the dispute. Child Kidnapping or child abduction may involve civil and criminal laws of the countries involved.

The Hague Treaty in Child Abduction

Although the law of Thailand provides remedies for enforcing child custody rights, the Hague Treaty on Child Abduction is often the most expedient method for having a child returned after being abducted by a hostile spouse. The treaty allows for having the child returned to the original jurisdiction.

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (HCCH) provides a procedure for parents who have had their children abducted by the other parent. The Hague Treaty on Child Abduction is executed through the governments of treaty member countries, but normally requires an attorney to file the appropriate documents with the government authority responsible for the action to ensue.

It is also necessary that the nations involved are signatories to the Hague Treaty. Thailand is a signatory to the Hague Treaty on Child Abduction and enforcement is through the Thailand Attorney General Office.

However, Thailand has not yet enacted an internal law that affirms legal implementation of the Hague Treaty statutes. Thailand’s legal system involves a two-tiered process for new laws, and the statutes of the Hague Treaty have not yet gone through the second process to become a part of Thailand’s internal legal system.

What this means is that it can be more difficult to use the HCCH to seek Thailand’s help in returning a child who has been abducted from another country and taken to Thailand. The Thai police and other local law enforcement agencies might be reluctant to provide their assistance, as in Thai culture this kind of scenario might be considered as private business to be handled between family members.

If an individual does need assistance in locating and seeking the return of a child from Thailand, they may need to enlist the services of a local investigator in Thailand. Once the child has been located, the individual may then have to file with the Thai Family Court to seek return of the child.

In other cases, when a child is abducted from within Thailand and taken to another country, if that country is a signatory state and has implemented the HCCH statutes then an individual may be able to obtain assistance from Thailand’s Attorney General in contacting the central authority of the other state. If the other state already has HCCH procedures in place, then it is more likely that a faster solution can be found to located the child and ensure the child is returned to Thailand.