ADVICE IN NON-CONVENTION CASES - Help from the
Foreign & Commonwealth Office
If your child has been taken to a country which is
not a member of the Hague Convention, there are no
international mechanisms in place to
return your child to you. The only exception is
Pakistan , where there is a judicial protocol in place between
the UK and Pakistan on child abduction. In all other cases there are two
possibilities:
- You can try to come to an amicable settlement
with the other parent.
- You can start legal proceedings in the courts
overseas.
If an amicable settlement with the other parent is
not possible, your only recourse will be to apply for
permission to bring your child back to the UK through the courts overseas. Return of your child is
not guaranteed.
In some Islamic countries, non-Muslim mothers
have very little chance of winning custody and return
of your child may not be an option. The Foreign and
Commonwealth Office can provide advice on the options
available to you and practical information about the
customs and laws of the foreign country.
What can the British Consul and the Foreign &
Commonwealth Office (FCO) do to help?
Whether or not your child has been taken to a
Convention country, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
and their network of Embassies abroad are committed to
giving you the maximum possible advice and
support.
They can:
- Monitor the case, offering appropriate advice
whilst you try to resolve the custody dispute.
They may also be able to refer parents to other
organisations that can help.
- Provide you with a list of overseas lawyers
who speak English. Some will be specialists in
family law.
- Laise with overseas authorities, Interpol and
other organisations for help in tracing the
child.
- Once the child is located,
and with the other parent's
consent, obtain a welfare report.
- Press the courts overseas to handle a court
case as quickly as possible in the best interests
of the child.
- With the UK court 's permission, draw to the attention of the
courts overseas the existence of any UK court orders.
- Help establish and keep open lines of
communication between you, the other parent and
your child.
- Provide travel advice and help with finding
safe accommodation locally.
- Sometimes they can provide informal
translations of key documents.
- In exceptional circumstances only they can
attend court hearings or visit a child to check
that they are safe.
F& CO cannot:
- Get your child back for you. This must be for
the courts overseas to decide.
- Intervene in the legal system of another
country.
- Provide legal advice.
- Become involved in illegal attempts to
repatriate children.
- Pay legal costs or fund air travel.
- Obtain visas.
Is your child a dual national?
- Dual nationality means being the national of more
than one country. A child may be a dual national if one
of his or her parents holds the nationality of another
country. This may limit what the Foreign and
Commonwealth Office can do to help. The Foreign and
Commonwealth Office aim to provide protection for all
British passport holders who are habitually resident in
the UK , regardless of whether or not they are dual
nationals.
REUNITE INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION
CENTRE
Reunite formed in 1986 and it registered as a
charity in 1990. Reunite provides advice, support and
information to parents, family members and guardians
who have had a child abducted or who fear abduction.
Reunite also supports and informs parents who have
abducted their children and assists with international
contact issues.
Reunite offers the only advice line service in
the UK specialising in parental child abduction, open Monday
to Friday, 10.30 am to 5.00 pm . An emergency number is available 24 hours a day by
calling the advice line number.
Reunite firmly believes that any child abduction,
whether or not a criminal offence, is wrong, but,
acting strictly within the law, will do all it can to
assist those who have abducted their children. Emphasis
is placed on helping them to come out of hiding and
regulating the child's position within the law. This
often entails assisting the abducting parent, guardian
or family member to come to terms with the fact that
children must be returned and helping him or her to
ensure that this will take place with minimum
disturbance and trauma, focusing on the child's best
interests.
Reunite provides specialist advice and training
to lawyers, government departments and other
professionals involved in this area. Working closely
with the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Home Office, it
administers The Parliamentary All Party Group on Child
Abduction, established in 1990. The charity
co-ordinates a Working Group of lawyers who specialise
in international parental child abduction. The group's
findings are reported back to The Parliamentary All
Party Group.
Reunite co-ordinates and publishes a list of
national and international lawyers and holds an
extensive database of lawyers worldwide who specialise
in abduction and child custody cases.
Reunite heads the 'European Network on Parental
Child Abduction'. The objective of the network is to
establish collective monitoring of abduction and
prevention cases and promote the sharing of information
and resources between non-governmental
organisations.
Reunite conducted a worldwide study of the
domestic systems of 30 countries in relation to child
custody and abduction. The outcome of the research,
published in November 1998 as 'International Parental
Child Abduction', is a resource for lawyers, voluntary
and statutory organisations the world over. Copies are
available direct from Family Law, and can be ordered
through Reunite.
Reunite provides a Child Abduction Prevention Pack
that gives details of legal procedures and practical steps
for parents to take if they fear their child/ren are in
danger of abduction. There is a pack for England and Wales , Scotland and Northern Ireland .