International Judicial Conference on Cross-Border Family Relocation

Development summary

At a meeting held on 23–25 March 2010, the Hague Conference on Private International Law and the International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children jointly examined the legal issues arising from cross-border family relocation. The discussions focused on cases in which a child may move to another country with one parent and on the procedures that should govern such applications.

The participants recommended that states make legal procedures available for applications to relocate with a child and that parties use those procedures rather than acting unilaterally. They also emphasised that the child’s best interests should be the primary consideration, that decisions should not rest on presumptions for or against relocation, and that reasonable notice should ordinarily be given before proceedings or relocation.