Who are the Hague Central Authorities, and why are they so important?

By Izzy Passey, 3rd Year Global Humanitarian Studies student at UCL, London

As of 2024, the Hague Abduction Convention has 103 signatories: that’s over 50% of countries in the world! International employers, staff and families could all one day find themselves embroiled in a Hague case in any of these countries. It is also much harder to return a child from a non-signatory country - but that’s another matter. Despite the rise in Hague cases in recent decades, there is alarmingly low public understanding of this issue. This blog briefly outlines what Central Authorities are, and why informed engagement with them is crucial to ‘success’ in Hague abduction cases.

Central Authorities are essential intermediaries who streamline communication between global parties. Each signatory country has at least one Central Authority (federal states like Australia have multiple). They provide assistance with both “outgoing” and “incoming” cases (where a child is taken away from, or brought into, a country). Generally, their duties are to ensure the safest outcome is reached for an abducted child. They act as efficiently as possible to minimise harm to the parties. Their duties may include: locating the abducted child; assisting law enforcement; providing legal support to the left-behind parent and/or submitting the required documentation.

However, according to the Convention, the operations of Central Authorities can vary massively from country to country. This is not always appreciated and can lead to difficulties between parties. Despite the common assumption, not all Central Authorities can initiate a Hague Case. For instance, the United State’s Central Authority (called the Office of Children’s Issues) has very limited powers compared to others globally. It has no judicial function and therefore lacks any authority to secure a child’s return pursuant to the Convention. In the US, and countries similar, it becomes exclusively the responsibility of the left-behind parent to seek counsel and commence a Hague court case. After the court application has been submitted, the Central Authority can then offer limited assistance such as sending a letter to the other parent advising voluntary return.

Failure of the left-behind parent to understand this could not only delay a child’s return, but jeopardize it altogether. Article 12 establishes that the court need not order the return of a child who has become settled in their new environment. Left-behind parents have one year from the date of the wrongful removal or retention to commence a case. Misunderstanding the role of a Central Authority can therefore have detrimental impacts.

Understanding Central Authorities is the key to successfully starting navigation of the complexities of international child abduction cases.

H-Ex offers training as part of our bespoke workshops which can be arranged online or in-person. We work alongside lawyers, judiciary and police forces to provide up-to-date information in case you/your company are ever faced with a Hague case.

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