Message to the Senate Transmitting the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

To the Senate of the United States:

With a view to receiving the advice and consent of the Senate to ratification, I transmit herewith a certified copy of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, adopted on October 24, 1980 by the Fourteenth Session of the Hague Conference on Private International Law and opened for signature on October 25, 1980.

The Convention is designed to secure the prompt return of children who have been abducted from their country of habitual residence or wrongfully retained outside that country. It also seeks to facilitate the exercise of visitation rights across international borders. The Convention reflects a worldwide concern about the harmful effects on children of parental kidnapping and a strong desire to fashion an effective deterrent to such conduct.

The Convention's approach to the problem of international child abduction is a simple one. The Convention is designed promptly to restore the factual situation that existed prior to a child's removal or retention. It does not seek to settle disputes about legal custody rights, nor does it depend upon the existence of court orders as a condition for returning children. The international abductor is denied legal advantage from the abduction to or retention in the country where the child is located, as resort to the Convention is to effect the child's swift return to his or her circumstances before the abduction or retention. In most eases this will mean return to the country of the child's habitual residence where any dispute about custody rights can be heard and settled.

The Convention calls for the establishment of a Central Authority in every Contracting State to assist applicants in securing the return of their children or in exercising their custody or visitation rights, and to cooperate and coordinate with their counterparts in other countries toward these ends. Moreover, the Convention establishes a judicial remedy in wrongful removal or retention eases which permits an aggrieved parent to seek a court order for the prompt return of the child when voluntary agreement cannot be achieved. An aggrieved parent may pursue both of these courses of action or seek a judicial remedy directly without involving the Central Authority of the country where the child is located.

The Convention would represent an important addition to the State and Federal laws currently in effect m the United States that are designed to combat parental kidnapping—specifically, the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction Act now in effect in every State in the country, the Parental Kidnapping Prevention Act of 1980, the 1982 Missing Children Act and the Missing Children's Assistance Act. It would significantly improve the chances a parent in the United States has of recovering a child from a foreign Contracting State. It also provides a clear-cut method for parents abroad to apply for the return of children who have been wrongfully taken to or retained in this country. In short, by establishing a legal right and streamlined procedures for the prompt return of internationally abducted children, the Convention should remove many of the uncertainties and the legal difficulties that now confront parents in international child abduction cases.

Federal legislation will be submitted to provide for the smooth implementation of the Convention within the United States. This legislation will be consistent with the spirit and intent of recent congressional initiatives dealing with the problem of interstate child abduction and missing children.

United States ratification of the Convention is supported by the American Bar Association. The authorities of many States have indicated a willingness to do their part to assist the Federal government in carrying out the mandates of the Convention.

I recommend that the Senate give early and favorable consideration to the Convention and accord its advice and consent to ratification, subject to the reservations described in the accompanying report of the Secretary of State.

RONALD REAGAN

The White House,

October 30, 1985.