What Does The Hague Convention On International Child Abduction Say About Rights Of Access?

The Hague Convention on International Child Abduction deals with wrongful removal and wrongful retention, but it also provides for access by a non-custodial parent to a child who is being kept in a foreign country.

If a parent has a valid court order from a contracting state, that gives them access to a child, the Country where the child is currently living must provide assistance in enforcing those access rights. If there are any conditions to the visitation / access, they will be enforced by the contracting country, but the parent should still be allowed to see their child.

Article 21

An application to make arrangements for organising or securing the effective exercise of rights of access may be presented to the Central Authorities of the Contracting States in the same way as an application for the return of a child.

 

The Central Authorities are bound by the obligations of co-operation which are set forth in Article 7 to promote the peaceful enjoyment of access rights and the fulfillment of any conditions to which the exercise of those rights may be subject. The Central Authorities shall take steps to remove, as far as possible, all obstacles to the exercise of such rights. The Central Authorities, either directly or through intermediaries, may initiate or assist in the institution of proceedings with a view to organising or protecting these rights and securing respect for the conditions to which the exercise of these rights may be subject.

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