If your child has been taken to another country this may be a case of international child abduction. The 1980 Hague Convention on Child Abduction determines when international child abduction has taken place. The aim of the convention is to prevent child abduction. Your child must be returned to the land from which it was taken, as quickly as possible.

NB!! In case of your child has been abducted you must act quickly to firstly convince the police.

The Hague Convention on Child Abduction

The 1980 Hague Convention on Child Abduction determines when international child abduction has taken place.
In short, the convention applies if the following conditions have been met:

• The child is younger than 16 years of age
• The child has been taken to or detained in another country without the permission of the parent with (joint) custody or without the permission of a judge
• The child has been taken to or detained in another country, contrary to the custody laws of the country in which the child was ordinarily resident

The Hague Convention on Child Abduction and how it works

The aim of the convention is to prevent child abduction. Your child must be returned to the country from which it was taken, as quickly as possible. The Central Authority is the organisation that enforces compliance with this convention. They are actively working to achieve the convention's aim.
The convention is interpreted very strictly by the judiciary. The judge is obliged to send your child back, unless you can successfully appeal on the basis of the convention's grounds of refusal. An appeal on these grounds will not be applied rapidly.
In the Netherlands, a distinction is also made between abduction to a country which is covered by the convention and one that is not. The Dutch Central Authority deals with all requests in the same manner, on the basis of the Dutch Implementation law.

The convention is, therefore, not applicable in the following situations:

• You are only permitted to determine your child's place of residence, according to the law of the country in which you reside with your child.
• You have written permission from the other parent to take your child to the Netherlands and to stay there for a limited length of time.
• You have the permission of a judge in the country you are leaving, to take your child with you.

What can you do?

A number of factors influence what you can do if your child has been abducted. It is important to know whether your child has been abducted to a country covered by The Hague Convention on Child Abduction or to a country that is not covered by this Convention.

Click on Country information to find more information about the country in question. Read the information below to find out what you can do.

1. Contact the Central Authority
The Central Authority is the organisation that enforces compliance with this convention. The procedures they follow if there is a request for return in a case of international child abduction can vary. It depends on whether the country is covered by the convention.

• Procedure in a country covered by the convention
  Countries that are covered by The Hague Convention on Child Abduction have an appointed Central Authority. The Dutch Central Authority will contact the Central Authority in the country to which the child has been taken. This Central Authority will establish the child's place of residence. The Central Authorities will initially try to arrange the voluntary return of the child by contacting the abducting parent. If this is unsuccessful, legal proceedings will be implemented. The foreign Central Authority does this on your behalf. If the judge decides that the child has to be returned, the parents can arrange this between themselves. If this is not possible the foreign Central Authority will arrange the return with the Dutch Central Authority. You must contact the Central Authority within one year of the abduction.
• Procedure in a country not covered by the convention
  Countries which are not covered by the international convention do not have a Central Authority. The Dutch Central Authority registers the case and will send it onto the Foreign Office. The Foreign Office sends the request to the Dutch embassy/consulate in the relevant country as quickly as possible. They use diplomatic means to try to find a solution.

2. Mediation
Try to contact the abducting parent and find a solution with them. This is certainly important if the child has been abducted to a country not covered by the convention as legal options are limited. You can ask a friend or family-member to help with mediation. You could also call upon the services of a professional mediator. Contact us for the names of professional mediators.

3. Implement legal proceedings
You can implement legal proceedings in the country to which the child has been taken. To do so you must contact a lawyer in the appropriate country. The lawyer will be able to provide you with more information. You can always implement legal proceedings yourself but, if your child has been abducted to a country which is covered by the convention, the Central Authority can implement legal proceedings for you. You can read about how this works in practice at Contacting the Central Authority.

NB. If you implement legal proceedings the Central Authority cannot assist you further. The implementation of legal proceedings is interpreted as an acceptance of the situation. This means that you can no longer submit a request for return to the Central Authority.

4.NB!!
Abducting the child to bring them back is contrary to national and international law. Even if this is done to return the child to the country of residence. Re-abducting the child is certainly not in their best interests. It could cause emotional and physical damage to your child. Besides that, re-abducting your child could have serious legal consequences for you. We strongly advise you against re-abducting your child.