Has your child been taken to the Netherlands or to a Hague Convention State? And has no solution been reached through the involvement of the Central Authority or through cross-border mediation? The left-behind parent can start legal proceedings before the court to request the return of the child. This is a return procedure based on the Hague Child Abduction Convention. A lawyer (attorney-at-law) is needed for this procedure.
The procedure will take place in the country where the child is currently residing. The court in that country may only judge whether the conditions, as laid down in the Hague Convention, are met. If there is an international child abduction based on the Hague Convention, the starting point is that the child needs to return to their country of habitual residence. However, the judge will take certain grounds for refusal into account, which could prevent that the child is being send back. For example, a ground for refusal can be that the child objects to being returned or that the child would be placed in an intolerable situation. Ultimately it is up to the judge to decide whether the child needs to return.
Contact us for more information about this procedure.
Has your child been taken to a Non-Hague Convention State? Then you do not have the possibility to start a return procedure based on the Hague Convention. However, you might have the possibility to start other legal proceedings in that country. A lawyer in the country concerned can give you more information about the steps you can take.
