What happens when 1980 Hague Child Abduction Convention proceedings have concluded? Michael Gration KC describes a significant gap in the knowledge of judges, practitioners and policy makers – and shares a research project that is underway to fill that gap.
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (25 October 1980) (“the 1980 Hague Convention”) is widely considered one of the most successful international instruments that deals with family law.
It has over 100 Contracting Parties, and provides for an easily accessible and (at least in theory) swift answer to the problem of international child abduction through its primary remedy – the return of the abducted child, usually (but perhaps not exclusively – see for example the decision of the Court of Appeal in B (A Child) (Abduction: Habitual Residence) [2020] EWCA Civ 1187, [2020] 4 WLR 149 at §104 onwards) to the Contracting State of their habitual residence, so that substantive decisions about what is in their welfare best interests can be taken by the courts with which the child has their closest connection.
The HCCH has suggested that the Convention has “contributed to resolving thousands of abduction cases and has served as a deterrent to many others through the clarity of its message”.[1] That must surely be an underestimate over the course of the now 45 years since the Convention was finalised.
There is a considerable volume of material available which gives an insight into the operation and application of the Convention itself. There are many hundreds of published judgments available on Bailii, by way of example. The HCCH operates Incadat, which gives access to cases decided in a number of different Contracting States. The Special Commission meetings (the most recent being the Eighth Special Commission held between 10 and 17 October 2025, which the authors attended) involve the collation and publication of detailed statistics concerning the operation of the Convention worldwide. These are an important aid to understanding how the Convention is working.
There is, however, a potentially significant gap in the knowledge base of most people involved in the use of the 1980 Hague Convention (whether through court proceedings or in its administration) – in that, whilst there is now a significant amount of information available about how the Convention operates in practice, very little is known (whether in the form of published decisions or through academic research) about the outcomes for children and for their parents once the 1980 Hague Convention proceedings have concluded, whether they have resulted in the making of a return order or not. This raises a number of possible issues, but some of the most important might include:
- If a return order was made, whether it was complied with;
- If enforcement of the return order was required, how enforcement occurred and what the outcome was;
- Where the returning court has required protective measures in order to safeguard the child’s return, whether those protective measures have been successfully implemented prior to or upon return and, if enforcement of them was necessary, whether and if so how they were enforced;
- Where contact was agreed during the 1980 Hague Convention proceedings (whether return was ordered or not) whether that contact took place;
- Whether welfare proceedings took place following the 1980 Hague Convention decision and, if so, how the court making welfare decisions dealt with the fact that there had been a wrongful removal or retention which had resulted in 1980 Hague Convention proceedings. Particularly, was that held against the taking parent when the court took its ultimate welfare decision?
- Was an application made to relocate? If so, what was the outcome?
- Finally, but most importantly, what was the impact on the children of their abduction, the outcome of the 1980 Hague Convention proceedings which might involve reunification with the left-behind or seeking family, and the experience of going through further, welfare based proceedings thereafter, and what support was available for the child and family?
Following the aforementioned Eighth Special Commission, the HCCH published its Conclusions and Recommendations. They can be found in full here. A significant conclusion reached by the meeting was its call for more evidence based research at XXCII, para. 102. That specifically included a call for research into how any “… Convention proceedings worked out and whether there were any subsequent legal proceedings and provision of aftercare support”.
Pursuant to that recommendation, in an effort to address the issues identified above and further to their earlier research on international child abduction, Professors Marilyn Freeman and Nicola Taylor are currently undertaking a research project which has been approved by the Liberal Arts and Sciences Research Ethics Committee at the University of Westminster, London. The aim of the project is to investigate what happens after children have been removed to, or retained in, another country in a way which is considered wrongful in law, and a decision has been made about whether the children should be returned or should remain in their new location.
That decision may have been made by parental agreement, or by a court following legal proceedings. They are requesting help from international family justice professionals to publicise the research and the links to the online surveys:
Two online surveys are available for completion (in English) from 22 September 2025 to 27 March 2026 by:
- Parents and family members of children who have experienced their child’s removal to, and/or retention in, another country in a way which was considered wrongful in law – https://westminsterpsych.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_agedV42lzL7kS22
- Adults over 18 years of age who were previously abducted as children – https://westminsterpsych.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_0HBOXOpBs6UCwB0
To be eligible to complete the surveys, respondents must not be involved in any legal proceedings relating to the decision about whether the child/ren will be returned currently or within the last six months.
The surveys and Participant Information Sheets are available through the relevant weblinks above. Once the survey data has been analysed, a research report containing the anonymous findings will be published on the University of Westminster website around July 2026.
[1] ‘The HCCH Children’s Conventions: An introduction to the Conventions’ October 2024 (https://assets.hcch.net/docs/c3433c56-4627-4dbb-92a7-b2eaa5cea6cc.pdf )
About the author
Michael Gration KC has a particular specialism in the international movement of children, which he focuses upon in the context of all of the areas of family law in which he practices. He also acts in private and public law children cases involving serious issues including allegations of domestic and sexual abuse, and allegations of alienating behaviours.
