In a review in Conflictoflaws.net of the Research Handbook on International Child Abduction: the 1980 Hague Convention, eds. Marilyn Freeman and Nicola Taylor (Edward Elgar Publishing Limited, 2023), Mayela Celis writes that,
“Many of the authors are at the forefront of this field and their contributions have left a long-lasting legacy in this area of law. While some topics are considered from an academic perspective, others have a more practical focus, striking the right balance between academia and practice.
With regard to non-Hague Convention countries, Chapter 17 (MORLEY) provides, from a practitioner’s perspective, an overview of the existing practices in some non-Contracting States (including in those the author has litigated, such as a case between Japan and Bangladesh). He begins his contribution by noting the existence of bilateral agreements and MOUs on family law matters, the latter of which have proven to be deficient or highly ineffective. The author also emphasises the Malta process and lists highly useful strategies to recover children from non-Hague countries.”
The Abstract of Chapter 17 states that:
“For a variety of reasons, non-Hague countries have resisted significant international pressure to adopt the 1980 Hague Convention. Some, like India, have made an affirmative decision not to accede, while others may be concerned about a potential interference with their sovereignty, disturbance with their cultural or religious norms, have more pressing problems to address, or see no benefit to doing so. The chapter discusses the great variety of bilateral agreements that have been entered into between specific countries, but concludes that these have generally been ineffective. The Malta Process is intended to promote dialogue and cooperation between Hague countries and non-Hague countries whose legal systems are based upon, or influenced by, Islamic (Sharia) law. It is usually extremely challenging, and often impossible, to recover children abducted to non-Hague countries. The chapter recommends several strategies to prevent children’s abduction to non-Hague countries or to try to recover them if they are.”