The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is the main international agreement that covers international parental child abduction. It provides a process through which a parent can seek to have their child returned to their home country.

A number of countries around the globe have joined a treaty called the Hague Convention. This multilateral treaty was developed by the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) and concluded on October 25, 1980, entering into force on December 1, 1983.

According to the Convention, the removal or retention of a child is “wrongful” whenever it breaches custody rights attributed to a person or any other body. If, at the time of removal or retention, those rights were exercised. Even if a parent already has legal custody of a child, the Convention is needed. U.S. court orders may not be recognized in other countries, and sovereign nations cannot interfere with each other’s legal systems, judiciaries, or law enforcement.

LIST OF U.S HAGUE CONVENTION TREATY PARTNERS

Listed below are the countries that are participants of the Hague Convention in force with the United States of America. The official list and dates the treaties signed can be found here.

 

Andorra	Lithuania
Argentina	Luxembourg
Armenia	Macedonia, Republic of
Australia	Malta
Austria	Mauritius
Bahamas, The	Mexico
Belgium	Monaco
Belize	Montenegro
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Morocco
Brazil	Netherlands
Bulgaria	New Zealand
Burkina Faso	Norway
Canada	Pakistan
Chile	Panama
China (Hong Kong and Macau only)	Paraguay
Colombia	Peru
Costa Rica	Poland
Croatia	Portugal
Cyprus	Korea, Republic of
Czech Republic	Romania
Denmark	Saint Kitts and Nevis
Dominican Republic	San Marino
Ecuador	Serbia
El Salvador	Singapore
Estonia	Slovakia
Fiji	Slovenia
Finland	South Africa
France	Spain
Germany	Sri Lanka
Greece	Sweden
Guatemala	Switzerland
Honduras	Thailand
Hungary	Trinidad and Tobago
Iceland	Turkey
Ireland	Ukraine
Israel	United Kingdom (Anguilla, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Isle of Man, Montserrat)
Italy	Uruguay
Jamaica	Venezuela
Japan	Zimbabwe
Latvia

 

CHOOSING YOUR ATTORNEY

To make sure you have the best possible chance in your Hague Convention case, you need an attorney who understands both the dire circumstances and the delicate interplay of state, federal, and international laws.

Erin Masters and Anthony Joseph of Masters Law Group have extensive experience in cases involving international child abduction disputes in both courts located in the State of Illinois and the United States federal court system.

Read the details of our most recent successful Hague Convention case here. Furthermore, see what our clients have to say on representing their Hague Convention on Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction case:

“Anthony Joseph and Erin litigated my Hague Convention federal court case and, after a terrifying and tiring few months, we won our case!! If I didn’t have the direction and focus of these two we wouldn’t have won. Anthony is a shark, no one will work harder and smarter and know every detail in the court like this man. AND ERIN!!!!! She is dotting all the i’s and crossing the T’s. Not one thing will get by her. She thinks outside the box and will find a solution to every problem. They way they work together, the other side doesn’t have a chance in court. Because of these two my children are safe with me in the USA and we won an extremely difficult to win case. 9/10 times the children have to go back to the country they were taken from, in this case it was Mexico. I had the odds stacked against me hugely. It’s very difficult to get any judge to side with the person who left with the children. Because of their expertise in Hague, they found the important details to keep my kids and myself away from our abuser who tried to get us back into the scary situation we were living in. THANK YOU TO YOU BOTH. Every day I’m grateful for them changing my life. When something this is important is at stake it is imperative you choose great counsel. And Masters Law Group is it.”

– SHARON H, HAGUE CONVENTION CLIENT TESTIMONIAL

Instead of trying to figure out international law issues alone, contact the Family Law Attorneys at Masters Law Group. Our experienced team will help you navigate the legal complexities of your case and are committed to vigorously representing you in these frightening, high-stakes proceedings.

Contact us to schedule your consultation here today.