INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION

The United States is a signatory to the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction. Over 40 other countries are also signatories to the treaty, which was signed by the United States in 1988. The convention provides, generally, that if a parent takes a child from its home and removes it to a signatory country, without the permission of the other parent, the parent who has been deprived of custody can petition the signatory country to return the child to the non-custodial parent. The petition under the Hague Convention should be filed as soon as possible after the abduction, and if at all possible, within one year of the abduction.