International Abduction Treaty Trumps Parental Rights, Says U.S. Supreme Court

An order prohibiting the removal of a child from a country without the noncustodial parent's consent is enforceable under an international child abduction treaty, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on Monday.

In Abbott v. Abbott, a dispute between the American mother and British father of a 15-year-old boy that has been closely watched by family and international law practitioners, the justices, voting 6-3, resolved a split among the federal circuits over the meaning of so-called ne exeat clauses in child custody orders.

Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, said the ne exeat clause in a Chilean court order conferred a "right of custody" on the noncustodial British father within the meaning of the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction.

And because the clause conferred a right of custody, wrote Kennedy, the father may seek the treaty's remedy -- a petition to return the child, in this case to Chile.

via Law.com - International Abduction Treaty Trumps Parental Rights, Says U.S. Supreme Court.