A Small Change That Matters: The Article 13(1)(b) Guide to Good Practice

After eight years in the making the Guide to Good Practice on Article 13(1)(b) is soon to be released.  The Guide is intended to help judges adjudicating cases pursuant to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (hereafter ‘the Convention’ (Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction 25 October 1980 T.I.A.S. No. 11670 1343 U.N.T.S. 89 (hereafter 'Hague Convention').)) and Central Authorities dealing with incoming and outcoming  applications under the Convention.  In particular the Guide provides guidance on the interpretation and application of  article 13(1)(b) which contains one of the exceptions to article 12’s remedy of  mandatory return and is commonly known as the 'grave risk' exception (The article 13(1)(b) exception allows a judge to refuse to order a child’s return if 'there is a grave risk that his or her return would expose the child to physical or psychological harm or otherwise place the child in an intolerable situation.').  

A petition is now circulating that asks the Council on General Affairs of the Hague Conference and the Hague Permanent Bureau to make...

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