More on Neulinger & Shuruk v. Switzerland

Blog David Hodson on International Family Law 8/9/10 Swiss clockmakers fail to tell the time: ECHR allows abduction after many delays There is much controversy across the child abduction world, between Europe and non-European countries, following a decision of the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Neulinger & Shuruk v. Switzerland (Application […]

Non-Hague International Child Abductions from Britain

Blog This map, prepared by the U.K.’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office, shows those non-Hague countries with the highest numbers of new British child abduction cases. The countries are Pakistan, India, Russia, N. Cyprus, Nigeria, Malaysia, Thailand, the Phillippines, Ghana and the UAE.

Australia – An Intelligent Ruling on International Child Visitation

Blog This article appears in the July 2010 issue of the ABA Journal  I had the great pleasure of lecturing in Tokyo this week on the Hague International Child Abduction Convention on a panel with The Hon. Justice Victoria Bennett of the Family Court of Australia. She was most impressive in discussing her insistence on […]

A Momentous and Disturbing Ruling in Europe on the Hague Abduction Convention

Blog This article appears in the July 2010 issue of the ABA Journal  The Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights (the “ECHR”) has issued, just days ago, a major decision that – at least at first blush – appears to have an extremely significant impact on the interpretation and application of the […]

When Global Families Fail by G.M. Filisko

Blog This article appears in the July 2010 issue of the ABA Journal  1.Christopher Savoie got the kind of telephone call that terrifies a parent on Aug. 12, 2008. The school where his two young children attended classes wanted him to know that they had not shown up that day. But Savoie’s first thought was […]

Notes on Ghana and International Child Abduction

Blog 1.  Ghana has not signed the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. 2.  The U.S. State Department reported in 2009 that “Many countries are not party to the Convention. Those with the highest incidence of reported child abductions from the United States include: China, Egypt, Ghana, India, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, […]

English Law: Unmarried Couples’ Rights

Blog Having just returned from a fabulous family wedding in the green fields of Cheshire, England I was struck by the sheer number of unmarried “partners” at the wedding. Several of the unmarried couples had delightful children and long-standing, committed relationships. All of this even though my family has generally been quite traditional in outlook. […]

EU Divorce Law Harmony – Ireland Objects

Blog The European Union proposed scheme for harmonized divorce rules for international couples is moving forward, though without Irish participation. The EU’s Legal Affairs Committee has unanimously backed the proposal and has recommended that the full Parliament should authorize the twelve Member States that have so far agreed to the plan to start to implement […]

2010 Hague Abduction Convention Compliance Report

Blog The U.S. State Department has just issued its latest “Report on Compliance” with the Hague Abduction Convention. Astonishingly it lists three countries as not compliant (Brazil, Honduras and Mexico) but it lists just one country – Bulgaria – as “Demonstrating Patterns of Noncompliance.” This is a sharp departure from past practice when it listed about eight countries in the […]

More Pressure on Japan & International Child Abduction

Blog See the article below on Japan.Dateline NBC will be airing a piece on the case of my client,  Christopher Savoie, this Sunday, May 9 at 7:00 pm EST. US lawmakers threaten Japan on child custody (AFP) WASHINGTON — US lawmakers threatened to punish Japan unless it worked to reunite hundreds of children with foreign parents, accusing […]