International Parental Child Abduction and Mediation: An Overview

The year 2013 marked the thirtieth anniversary of the entry into force of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. This treaty facilitates the prompt return to their country of habitual residence of children wrongfully removed to, or retained in any Contracting State so that a court of that country can resolve issues of custody and visitation. The goal of this article is, first, to review the operation of the Child Abduction Convention in the context of its Guide to Good Practice on Mediation, and to consider whether such a guide will promote mediation as a useful method for family conflict resolution in cases of international child abduction by one of the parents. The second goal will be to explore current efforts to ensure parents the opportunity to elect voluntary mediation with a skilled international family mediator in resolving issues between the left-behind parent and the taking parent, and how best to use technology.