Legal Definitions - Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction is an international agreement made in 1980. It aims to prevent parents from taking their children across international borders without the other parent's permission.

The Convention provides a legal process for parents to seek the return of their children or to gain access to them. The goal is to quickly return children who have been taken from one country to another without permission and to enforce custody and visitation rights in the countries that have agreed to the Convention.

For example, if a parent takes their child from the United States to France without the other parent's permission, the other parent can use the Hague Convention to try to get the child back. The Convention provides a summary process, which means that the case is decided quickly and does not involve long hearings.

More than 46 countries have agreed to the Convention, including the United States. This means that parents in these countries can use the Convention to seek the return of their children or to enforce their custody and visitation rights.