Cross-Border Family Law, Domestic Violence, and the Hague Convention
International travel and migration have made cross-border families increasingly common. When relationships break down, parents may find themselves navigating legal systems in multiple countries, often without realizing that an international treaty may affect decisions involving their children.
The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction was adopted in 1980 to address international parental child abduction by establishing procedures for the prompt return of children who have been wrongfully removed or retained across international borders. Hague proceedings are intended to determine which country's courts should decide custody, rather than to resolve custody itself.
Because Hague proceedings focus primarily on jurisdiction and return, they differ from traditional custody proceedings. Courts generally determine whether the Convention requires a child's return to their country of habitual residence, while questions regarding the child's long-term best interests are typically reserved for the courts of that country.
Over time, researchers, survivor advocates, legal professionals, and international human-rights experts have raised concerns about how Hague proceedings operate in cases involving allegations of domestic violence, coercive control, family safety, immigration barriers, and post-separation abuse.
Special Rapporteurs from the United Nations have called on officials to “acknowledge the egregious miscarriages of justice that regularly occur in both family courts and courts that adjudicate Hague abduction cases internationally” and “to safeguard mothers and their children.”
Our Work
Hague Collective is a survivor-led nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing understanding of how Hague Convention proceedings affect children and families in practice.
Our work focuses on the experiences of families before, during, and after Hague proceedings through:
Research: Bringing together academic scholarship, legal analysis, and international human-rights discussions.
Education: Providing accessible information for policymakers, legal professionals, journalists, researchers, and the public.
Resources: Connecting families with organizations, educational materials, and survivor-informed support.
Public Awareness: Encouraging informed discussion about the real-world impact of Hague Convention proceedings on children and families.