New Economist Article on International Family Law

Blog I was recently interviewed in connection with the below article, set to be published in the latest edition of the Economist:. Kate Baggott and her two children live in a tiny converted attic in a village near Frankfurt. Ms Baggott, who is Canadian, has a temporary residence permit and cannot work or receive benefits. […]

California – Israel – New York Child Custody Jurisdiction Case

Blog I am pleased that the Appellate Division of the State of New York, Second Department, today affirmed, in my client’s favor, an order of the Family Court, Westchester County dismissing a child custody petition for lack of subject matter jurisdiction pursuant to the Uniform Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act. The case was handled […]

The Hague Abduction Convention, Second Edition, by Jeremy D. Morley

Blog The Hague Abduction Convention, Second Edition, provides a clear explanation of how the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction works in the United States. Hague cases require an intimate knowledge of the Convention and of the voluminous case law that has developed around it.  Hague cases also require a complete […]

Russia parliament votes 380-3 to decriminalize domestic violence

Blog Russia’s parliament voted 380-3 on Friday to decriminalize domestic violence in cases where it does not cause “substantial bodily harm” and does not occur more than once a year. The move, which eliminates criminal liability in such cases, makes a violation punishable by a fine of roughly $500, or a 15-day arrest, provided there […]

India Debates the Hague Abduction Convention

Blog The debate swirls in India as to whether or not that country should accede to the Hague Abduction Convention.  When I was in India in September it appeared that the consensus of leading members of the legal community there was that India should, and would, sign the treaty, and would thereby join most of the […]

Notes on International Child Abduction to Nicaragua

Blog 1.Nicaragua is a signatory to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. However, the United States is not partnered with Nicaragua under the Convention. There are no bilateral agreements in force between Nicaragua and the United States concerning international parental child abduction. 2.The State Department has determined that Nicaragua is a […]

Notes on Kuwait, Child Custody and Child Abduction

Blog Family and personal status law in Kuwait is governed by religious courts. In Kuwait the Sunni and Shi’a have their own court chambers to handle such matters in accordance with their own jurisprudence. In the case of Sunni Muslims, the Sunni chamber of the Family Court in Kuwait will apply the Maliki or the Hanbali interpretation […]

Notes on International Child Abduction and the Philippines

Blog Although the Philippines has acceded to the Hague Abduction Convention, the Convention is not in force between the United States and the Philippines because the United States has not accepted the Philippines’ accession. Articles 38 and 39 of the Convention provide that the treaty will not enter into force between an existing Contracting State and […]

Slovakian Noncompliance with the Hague Abduction Convention

Blog The European Court of Human Rights has determined, in the case of the abduction of three children from their habitual residence in Maryland to Slovakia, that the Slovakian legal system failed to protect the left-behind father’s rights and that Slovakia failed to comply with the obligation of our treaty partners to return abducted children […]

A Possible Child Visitation Law in Japan

Blog In Japan, if the parent who does not have physical possession of a child is allowed to have visitation with the child it will generally be limited to a few hours a month and be strictly supervised – usually in the courthouse, a police station or a lawyer’s office – if there is even […]