Posts

International Problems in Child Custody Disputes

All too often, one parent in a divorce refuses to accept a court’s child custody decision and takes matters into his or her own hands. With marriages between citizens of different countries becoming more common in the 21st century, the problem of international child abduction can present unique problems.

The most common scenario for international child abduction occurs when an American citizen marries a citizen of a foreign country and they have children together, but their marriage ends in divorce. When one of the parents takes the children to a foreign country in violation of a court order, an international child abduction has occurred.

The United States and more than 80 others nations have signed a treaty to prevent international child abduction, the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. International law requires countries that signed the Hague Convention to recognize and enforce the child custody orders of other countries that have signed the treaty.

However, many Asian countries have not signed the Hague Convention, including some of America’s closest allies in the region. According to the U.S. State Department, Japan and India account for more than 300 cases of international child abduction, involving more than 400 children.

Once a child has been abducted to a country that has not signed the Hague Convention, a parent who has been left behind has very few remedies. In fact, one American parent recently spent 18 days in a Japanese prison after a failed attempt to bring his children back home.

There has been progress in many Asian countries. South Korea and Singapore have recently announced they will sign the Hague Convention. However, Japan and India have shown little indication that they do likewise. In our next post, we will discuss the phenomenon of international child abduction in more detail and the efforts that are underway to reunite American parents with their children.

Source: The Washington Post, “Japan, India pressed to curb child abductions,” David Crary, 12/7/2010

/by

International Problems in Child Custody Disputes: Part II

The effects of a country’s refusal to sign the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction are profound. When a parent absconds with their children to a country like Japan or India even though there is an American child custody order in place, the foreign courts will ignore the previous child custody order and start over from scratch.

While both India and Japan recognize that child custody matters should be decided by looking to the best interests of the child, they have vastly different criteria than U.S. courts. For example, it is accepted practice in Japan that only one parent, usually the mother, should have sole custody of the child after a divorce.

Even some countries that have signed the Hague Convention will occasionally ignore an American child custody order. Last year, a case involving Brazil made headlines. In 2004, Sean Goldman’s mother took him from New Jersey to Brazil in violation of a New Jersey court order. In 2008, Sean’s mother died in Brazil, leaving the boy in the custody of her family. It was not until December 2009 and not until Brazil’s Supreme Court weighed in, that Sean was returned to his father.

Presently, there is a legislative effort underway to bring more pressure upon countries that ignore American child custody orders. New Jersey Congressman believes that the U.S. State Department’s diplomatic approach is falling short of reuniting parents with their children. Introducing a bill that would create the Office on International Child Abductions within the State Department and create a process for imposing economic sanctions on countries that are havens for international child abduction.

Source: The Washington Post, “Japan, India pressed to curb child abductions,” David Crary, 12/7/2010

/by

Abducted girl found in Germany, returned to her father

In December, we wrote about the serious problem of international child abduction by parents. The most common scenario for international child abduction involves a marriage and divorce between citizens of different countries. All too often, one of the parents will attempt to ignore a valid child custody order and take the child to another country. Many left-behind parents have little recourse when this happens. However, a recent story demonstrates how some children are successfully returned to their parents.

A 5-year-old girl who was missing since June of 2010 was recently found in Germany following an investigation conducted by international and local authorities. Bijan Richard, the father of the girl, had all but given up hope of seeing his daughter once again.

Richard returned from Germany to the U.S. recently after failing to find his daughter when an informant gave him specifics regarding the abducted girl’s location.

Richard and his former wife had been in a heated child custody battle. The 43-year-old woman allegedly abducted the girl during a June visit and brought her to Germany. The woman is currently in German custody awaiting extradition. She will likely face criminal charges in the U.S., including a felony charge for violating a child custody order.

The 5-year-old girl was ultimately located by agents from Interpol, an international police force.

According to Richard, the informant met his ex-wife, along with his daughter, in Germany. The informant was suspicious that something was wrong when the daughter and mother gave conflicting stories regarding Richard, and, following some investigation of his own, determined that the girl had been abducted and he contacted Richard.

In the meantime, the girl was separated from her mother and placed in the care of a foster family as she waited for Richard’s arrival. After nearly one year apart, the two reunited and returned to the United States. Richard said that his daughter’s hair is shorter, but her vocabulary is larger.

Source: KWGN.com, “Abducted Littleton girl, 5, found in Europe, mother faces charges,” Tammy Vigil, 4/12/2011

/by

Japan bows to pressure, moves to reform child custody laws

The Japanese government has moved closer to changing its family law system, including the rules governing international child custody. According to Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, the Foreign Ministry office would manage cases of international child kidnapping along with the search for abducted children.

The new plan would bring Japan closer in line with the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction.

In 2009, the case of Christopher Savoie brought Japan’s custody laws into intense international focus. His Japanese ex-wife, Noriko Savoie, took his two children to Japan, violating a U.S. court order that required her and the children to stay in the United States. Christopher Savoie traveled to Japan to get his children, took them to a nearby U.S. consulate office and was arrested at the front gate of the consulate by Japanese authorities.

The Japanese government agreed to drop all charges if Christopher would go back to the U.S., leaving his children with their mother in Japan. Since then, Japan has been under increasing pressure to alter the way it manages international child custody cases.

The Savoie case, however, is far from the only one on record. Hundreds of Japanese ex-spouses have relocated themselves and their children to Japan despite legal custody agreements in the U.S. since 1994. According to U.S. State Department figures, 321 children have been wrongfully taken to Japan. To date, all of these cases are unresolved.

Present Japanese law does not recognize joint custody arrangements even among people who live in Japan. Children of divorced Japanese parents rarely spend time with their non-custodial parent.

Complicating international child custody reform efforts is the belief among many Japanese citizens that custodial parents, typically Japanese women, leave the U.S. for Japan with their children because of spousal abuse. This perception has led to a significant number of Japanese coming out against changes to the current child custody laws.

Source: CNN, “Japan takes a step closer to reforming its child custody laws,” Tricia Escobedo, 5/21/2011

/by

Child custody issue amplified after international abduction

A jury recently convicted a Virginia pastor for aiding and abetting a mother who took her biologically related daughter out of the United States. In 2000, the mother married another woman in a Vermont-sanctioned civil ceremony. During the couple’s marriage, the biological mother conceived the girl through artificial insemination. The domestic couple split in 2004.

Afterwards, a family law court awarded primary custody to the biological mother and awarded visitation rights to the ex-partner. The biological mother appealed, claiming that she is no longer gay and that her ex-partner should not be allowed to visit the child. An appellate court affirmed the family court’s ruling.

When the case went back down to family court, the judge indicated that he was inclined to grant custody of the child to the ex-partner because the biological mother kept defying a series of court orders allowing the ex-partner to see the child. Prompted by the judge’s warning, the mother sought the aid of a Mennonite pastor. He arranged for another person to drive the mother and daughter to Canada where they were taken to an airport to catch a flight to Nicaragua.

The mother apparently chose to flee to Nicaragua because it is not a party to the 1980 Hague Convention Treaty that requires the return of children illegally taken from member countries. After their arrival in Nicaragua, American Mennonites took them in because they felt the child needed protection from what they consider an immoral lifestyle. The ex-partner hopes that the jury’s verdict against the pastor sends a message to Nicaragua that it should return the child safely to Vermont.

Notwithstanding the verdict against the pastor, the real issue is whether domestic partners who are not biologically related to children conceived during gay civil unions should have custody or visitation rights. Family law attorneys are equipped to handle a wide variety of child custody situations.

Source: Wisconsin Gazette, “Lesbian mom sues pastor who helped ex kidnap child,” Aug. 15, 2012

/by