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US Court Orders One Year Deadline on Hague Child Abduction

Thailand Child Abduction

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The US Supreme Court unanimously ruled on 5 March 2014 that the Hague Convention on Child Abduction’s a one year limitation providing for automatic return to the child country of residence , may begin to run even though the non-custodial parent may be unaware that the child has been abducted reported The Washington Associated Press.

The Hague Convention on child abduction states that a child must automatically be returned to its home country within the first year of residing in a foreign country. The Supreme Court ruling will provide a shorter window for the aggrieved parent in a custody battle to demand the automatic return of a child pursuant to the one year time period as defined by Convention.

The Hague Convention is an international convention between member nations that agree to abide by its terms. Nevertheless, the provisions of the Convention would, in general, need to be enacted in each member nation’s domestic laws. Further,  a member nation may interpret or modify its duties, as enacted in its domestic law in accordance with the legal system of that nation’s interpretation of the Convention.

In this instance, the Supreme Court’s ruling means that the one year period, after which US judges may have more discretion to deny the request for the return of an abducted child pursuant to the Hague Convention, may expire more quickly. and thereby prejudice the parent requesting the return.

The US Supreme Court’s ruling will not have a direct effect on most child custody cases in Thailand. However it may have an effect on cases in where a child is abducted from Thailand and brought to the USA and the Thailand based parent requesting the return pursuant to the Convention has exceed the one year period.

Although Thailand, along with the USA, is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction. Thailand has only recently enacted internal domestic law to enforce the terms of the Convention pursuant to the Thailand Child Abduction Act.

Read the full article here.

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Thailand Child Protection Act

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Thailand Child Abduction Law

Thailand’s Child Abduction Law

 

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Although Thailand has been a long-standing signatory to the Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, no domestic law in Thailand existed until 2012 to afford for the direct enforcement of rights pursuant to the Convention.  Cases of international child abduction in Thailand were still resolved by the Thailand judiciary.  However, such cases were considered under other applicable laws such as the Thailand Family Code.

In 2012, with the enactment of the Thailand Abduction Act, aggrieved parents and relevant government officials now have a more direct method to resolve international child abduction cases in Thailand.

The Thailand Child Abduction Act sets out the legal rights and procedures for enforcing the rights for an aggrieved parent or a government official to apply for the return of the child abducted in Thailand to the habitual residence of the child in a foreign country.

Parents living in Thailand therefore now have the option of proceedings with breach of custody cases under both the Thailand Family Code and the 2012 Abduction Act.

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Japan To Join Treaty On International Child Abduction

The Japan Times reports that Japan is now certain to finally  join the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction by the end of the financial year in March 2014, once all the domestic issues are concluded.

The treaty established in 1980 assist with the quick return of children under 16, who have either been abducted or kept by one parent when an international marriage falls apart, to their country of habitual residence if  the other parent makes a request.

Thailand is already a signatory to the Hague Treaty. Enforcement is made through the Thailand Attorney General Office. The Hague Convention has been successfully used in the past through Thailand Child Abduction Law to bring children back to Thailand.  However, the reverse position is not as clear as yet: Thailand’s legal system has a two-tiered process for new laws, and the statutes of the Hague Treaty still need to go through the second process before they are fully integrated with Thailand’s internal legal system.

Read the full story here

Related Articles: Girl Returned to Mother After Thailand Abduction