Parental Abductions -- Foreign & Domestic

If you believe your child has been abducted, the first thing you need to do is call the Police!

Your local law enforcement officials have the power and authority to put into action all manner of means and resources to initiate a search for your child.

Parental abductions are very different from "kidnapping".  By definition, a kidnapper is one who wrongfully takes a child to whom he/she has no custodial claim.

Unless there is a court order in existence to the contrary, Kentucky law presumes that both parents have equal authority to make decisions in the best interest of the child.

This means that, assuming there is no court order to the contrary, both parents have the decision-making power to decide where the child will live, go to school, attend worship services, receive medical attention, etc.  "Custody" is actually this decision-making authority, not so much with whom the child might be at any given point in time.

But, if one parent unilaterally decides on his or her own that the child is not going to live in its "customary domicile" or usual place of residence, the other parent has the right to object to this one-sided decision.  The usual recourse is to approach the Court in the county where the child has historically lived to settle this dispute.

When one parent keeps a child from the other parent, that is considered parental abduction or custodial interference.

In the event of parental abduction or custodial interference here in Kentucky, we recommend you consult with an experienced Family Law Attorney in your area to file an action on your behalf in the local court, such as the Jefferson Family Court.

If, however, your child has been taken by the other parent or someone else either to another country or from another country into the United States, then you need to consult with an attorney who is experienced in coordinating recovery and legal efforts across international lines under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (commonly referred to as the "Hague Convention").

In addition, it is critical that you immediately make contact with the U.S. State Department Office of Children's Issues to enlist their possible assistance in cases involving international parental abduction, particularly under the Hague Convention.  This multilateral treaty that seeks to protect children from the harmful effects of abduction and retention across international boundaries by providing a procedure to bring about their prompt return.

The United States of America is a party to the Hague Convention and has agreed to be subject to its rules in international parental abduction matters.

To determine whether the other country involved is also a signatory to the Hague Convention, see http://hcch.e-vision.nl.

In international abduction cases, a Hague Convention application may be necessary if a child is taken to or retained in another country, away from his or her habitual residence, without the consent of a parent who has rights of custody.

The bottom line, under the rules of the Convention, is the abducted or retained child must be promptly returned to his/her habitual residence unless the return will create a grave risk of harm to the child.

Obviously, there are no guarantees in such situations, but the Hague Convention sets out a very complex means of potentially recovering a child so the courts in the child's habitual place of residence can sort out what is in his/her best interest.

There are currently more than 80 countries which are either members of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, are signatories to the Convention or have ratified the Convention.  Those nations include: Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia/Herzegovina, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, Chile, only Hong Kong and Macau in China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia (former USSR), Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Montenegro, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, St. Kitts and Nevis, San Marino, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom (Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Bermuda, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Isle of Man and Montserrat), United States of America, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

To confirm whether a country is today a party or signatory to the Hague Convention, see http://hcch.e-vision.nl.

The Hague Convention is not applicable if a child is taken to or from a country that is not a party to the accord.

Countries NOT signatory to the Hague Convention in 2008 included Armenia, Bolivia, most of the People's Republic of China, Fiji, Honduras, India, Korea (North and South), Republic of Moldova, Nicaragua, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Vietnam, and most North African, Middle Eastern, Arabic or Muslim nations such as Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates ["UAE"], Western Sahara, Yemen, and others.

The list of countries which comply with the Hague Convention is constantly changing.  For instance, Japan just signed it in May 2008.  Do not rely on the above list as absolute confirmation of a country's compliance or non-compliance with the Convention.  Please confirm this through other sources, such as the U.S. State Department's website at http://travel.state.gov or http://hcch.e-vision.nl.

U.S. State Department's map of Hague and Non-Hague Countries: