International child abduction occurs when one parent wrongfully (ie in breach of the parental responsibility of the other parent) takes a child to a country other than that of the child's habitual residence, or wrongfully keeps a child in such country. The author of this work was part of a research team that conducted a study, partially funded by the European Commission, to examine this problem in Belgium and Hungary, analysing cases from 2007 and 2008 and interviewing affected parents. This book is a revised version of the Belgian research report, which sets the problem of child abduction within its international context. It looks at the families in which abductions took place, how preparations were made for abduction, the quest for the return of the child (including legal proceedings) and the aftermath of the abductions. Throughout the book, the results of the quantitative and qualitative data are explained. What emerges is that when a child is abducted, the solutions offered by the law are often inadequate. Family conflict is a complex societal issue, and child abduction is a severe form of family conflict. Rather than responding to child abduction with strict and contentious legal proceedings, the book argues that solutions based on respect, psychological assistance, and a search for consensus should be favoured.

There is growing enthusiasm for the use of mediation to seek to resolve cases arising under the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Convention). However, despite being endorsed by the conclusions of meetings of experts, judicial comment and even legislative changes, there have been relatively few cases where mediation has played a significant role. It is suggested that the reason underlying this dichotomy between the widespread support for the use of mediation and the current limited practice is that there are several key questions regarding the use of mediation in the context of the Convention which remain to be answered. Specifically: what is meant by Convention mediation? How can a mediation process fit within the constraints of the Convention? And why offer mediation in Convention cases given the existing legal framework? This book addresses these questions and in so doing seeks to encourage a movement from enthusiasm about the use of mediation in the Convention context to greater practice.

Increasing numbers of children are on the move throughout the world: moving or migrating, alone or accompanied. This gives rise to many new problems with legal, economic, social and cultural aspects, calling for new approaches based on a world-wide perspective. The international mobility of children poses a special challenge for the protection of their family environment, as guaranteed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and other international instruments. Children on the Move contains the texts and speeches given and the papers presented at the international conference of the same title, which took place at the Hague, the Netherlands, 23-26 October 1994. The conference was one of the major contributions of the Netherlands to the UN International Year of the Family and was convened by the Netherlands Committee for the International Year of the Family in collaboration with the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Children on the Move provides the reader with an in-depth analysis of the various legal aspects (problems and remedies) of inter-country adoption, international child abduction, and children as international refugees.

Japan has faced widespread scrutiny for failing to properly address international parental child abduction involving its citizens. This book examines how and why Japan has come to have this tarnished image, its response, and how it might manage these disputes in the future. In particular, the book explores how Japan engages with international legal frameworks to manage international parental child abduction and what this means, in reality, for Japanese people and others who come under its wide umbrella. A focus of this examination is how the key international treaty, the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, has fared since being introduced in Japan in 2014. Case studies of parental child abduction involving Japan are used throughout to illustrate the legal and social concepts discussed in the book. The struggles of both abducting and left-behind parents across fluid international borders reveal seismic social and philosophical shifts in Japan that continue to shape its legal landscape. This book will be a useful resource for students of Japanese Studies, Sociolegal Studies, Comparative Law and International Law.

This book continues the series Select Proceedings of the European Society of International Law, containing the proceedings of the Third Biennial Conference organised by ESIL and the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in 2008. The conference was entitled 'International Law in a Heterogeneous World', reflecting an idea which is central to the ESIL philosophy. Heterogeneity is considered one of the pillars upon which Europe's contribution to international law is built and the subject was considered in a number of panels, including such diverse topics as migration, the history of international law, the rules on warfare and international environmental law.