The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction has two main objectives, set out in Chapter 1, Article 1 of the Convention:

Article 1

The objects of the present Convention are –

a) to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any contracting State; and

b) to ensure that rights of custody and of access under the law  of one Contracting State are effectively respected in the other Contracting States.

The Hague Convention is designed to  be a tool to enforce a custody order that has been made, or when one has not yet been made, to determine WHICH court should make the determination.

When we have these cases in Los Angeles County, or throughout the southland of California, we are always aware of the limitations of the Convention. The Los Angeles Superior Court is quite familiar with the Convention because we are such a multi-national and cultural city.