Hearing Children’s Objections in Hague Child Abduction Proceedings in England and Wales, Australia, and the USA

Michelle Fernando () and Jessica Mant
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Michelle Fernando: Justice and Society, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5061, Australia
Jessica Mant: Faculty of Law, Monash University, Melbourne 3800, Australia

Laws, 2023, vol. 12, issue 4, 1-21

Abstract: In this article we compare how children’s objections to being returned to their country of origin are treated in Hague child abduction matters in three different international jurisdictions: England and Wales, Australia, and the United States. We examine the relevance of children’s views for the purposes of the ‘gateway’ stage of the relevant exception to mandatory return, and how children’s objections have been approached in legislation, case law, and scholarly commentary. We critique each jurisdiction’s approach against the objectives of the Hague Convention and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We discuss how aspects such as the methods by which children are heard can make a difference to experiences for children and make recommendations to promote greater certainty and consistency in how children’s objections are heard and considered across jurisdictions.

Keywords: child abduction; Hague Convention; children’s rights; children’s participation; children’s objections; comparative law (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: D78 E61 E62 F13 F42 F68 K0 K1 K2 K3 K4 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jlawss:v:12:y:2023:i:4:p:69-:d:1211224

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