International Child Abduction Remedies Act

The Hague International Child Abduction Convention is a convention signed by many nations around the world that provides a method of securing either the return of a child or access to a child who was wrongfully taken into another country. The International Child Abduction Remedies Act establishes federal law to implement the Hague Convention.

Any person who wants services to obtain the return of a child or access to a child, who was wrongfully taken out of the country, may file a petition for relief in a state or federal court. The person who wants return of a child must show that the child was wrongfully removed or retained out of the country. Where a person wants access to the child, the person must prove that the person has such rights.

Under the Convention, the United States Central Authority, an agency within the State Department, has responsibility for carrying out the provisions of the Act. This includes using the Federal Parent Locator Service, where the child has wrongfully been brought into the United States. The United States Central Authority may contact any federal department, agency, or instrumentality of any State or foreign government to obtain information to help locate a missing child. The federal department, agency, or instrumentality is required to make an immediate search of its records for any helpful information, unless the information would be harmful to national security.

The Secretary of State is also required to appoint the Director of the Office of Children’s Issues and a sufficient number of case officers needed to help locate missing children. The Secretary is also required to appoint someone in each embassy to act as point person in child abduction cases. The Central Authority is required to report at least once every six months as to the current status of the case to each person who has requested services under the Act until the case is closed or the person asking for assistance no longer wishes to get the reports.