When you become a parent, you may FIND YOURSELF DIRECTLY INVOLVED IN THE UNTHINKABLE: the unlawful removal or wrongful retention of your child in a foreign country by yourself or by the other parent.

This site offers information you may need if:

• you move abroad with your child 
• you become the victim of an illicit transfer of your child to a foreign territory by the other parent 
• you experience the illicit non-return of your child

BEFORE legal procedures can be initiated, it is first necessary to understand what constitutes the wrongful removal or wrongful retention of a child.

UNDER Article 3 OF THE HAGUE CONVENTION of OCTOBER 25, 1980,

the wrongful removal or non-return of a minor is defined as the following:

The removal or the retention of a child is to be considered wrongful where –

1. it is in breach of rights of custody attributed to a person, an institution or any other body, either jointly or alone, under the law of the State in which the child was habitually resident immediately before the [THEIR] removal or retention; 

and

2. b) at the time of removal or retention those rights were actually exercised, either jointly or alone, or would have been so exercised but for the removal or retention.

The rights of custody mentioned in sub-paragraph a) above, may arise in particular by operation of law or by reason of a judicial or administrative decision, or by reason of an agreement having legal effect under the law of that State.

More simply, 

1] removal or non-return of a child from the parent who, in the eyes of the law, holds overall right of custody is unlawful. 

2] removal and non-return of a child to another state without the written consent of the parent holding overall custody is unlawful.

SUCH A removal or non-return is unlawful even if the parent concerned exercises joint custody.

A parent deciding to go abroad with the child must obtain written legal consent from the other parent, or the judge, to travel with the child.

The mere fact that a parent has custody does not make the removal or the non-return of the child legal, especially when this removal deprives the other parent of their rights.

If you identify with a situation outlined above, or if you know someone who could, then under the Hague Convention you or one of your relatives, or someone you know is probably the victim of the displacement or wrongful non-return of a child.