The Department of State places the highest priority on the welfare of children, and is deeply committed to assisting children and parents involved in international parental child abduction cases. The following is a resource list which may assist in the interpretation of Hague Abduction Convention principles:
The Hague Conference on Private International Law administers a group of judges called the International Hague Network of Judges (Network), comprised of judges from various countries, who are experts in the Convention and other international family law issues. The role of a Network Judge is to help facilitate direct judicial communications by serving as a link between his/her colleagues at the domestic level and other members of the Network at the international level. A Network Judge also serves as a resource for his/her judicial colleagues domestically.
The United States currently has four U.S. judges serving on the Network; three state court judges and one federal court judge. If you would like to speak with one of the four U.S. Network Judges regarding a case, a potential direct judicial communication, or other general Convention principles, please do not hesitate to contact our office by sending an e-mail to JudgesNetwork@state.gov.
See Appendix H for sample pleadings
Other Resources
Please note the United States does not have exit controls. This means that U.S. citizens may leave the country without interference from or detection by the U.S. government. Additionally, the Department of State cannot track a child’s ultimate destination through his or her use of a U.S. Passport if the child transits a third country after departing from the United States. Further, U.S. citizen children may also have another nationality and travel on that country’s passport making it more difficult to determine the child’s whereabouts.
