The Future of Litigating an International Child Abduction Case in the United States
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International Child Abduction Cases
The Future of Litigating an
International Child Abduction Case in
the United States
by
Melissa A. Kucinski*
Our world is shrinking. This was abundantly clear as we
read the 2020 news feeds showing the speed with which the
coronavirus spread between countries due to international travel
and commerce. Not a day went by in 2018 where we had a re-
prieve from the constant news cycle about caravans of immi-
grants from South and Central America making their way to the
Mexico-U.S. border. When the Amazon Rain Forest and the
Australian brushfires burned uncontrollably in 2019, the news
made daily headlines in the United States because of the impact
those regional crises had on a global scale. With constant global
movement, it is inevitable courts will see more international pa-
rental child abduction cases.
This article elaborates on the trends and challenges in the
United States when litigating an international parental child ab-
duction case, including additional expense and changes in the
law. The article then discusses alternatives to using The Hague
Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of Interna-
tional Child Abduction (1980 Convention), including the Uni-
form Child Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act
(UCCJEA) and a new law on the horizon for the United
States, signed in 2010 - the Convention of 19 October 1996 on
Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-
operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures
for the Protection of Children (1996 Convention).1 The 1996
Convention determines jurisdiction to issue custody orders and
* Melissa Kucinski is a lawyer in Washington, D.C.
1 Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforce-
ment and Co-Operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for
the Protection of Children, Oct. 19, 1996 (entered into force Jan. 1, 2002),
https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/full-text/?cid=70#ch3 [herein-
after 1996 Convention].
31
Vol. 33, 2020](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.journals/jaaml33&div=7&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)
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The Future of Litigating an International Child Abduction Case in the United States
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