Families Across Borders: The Hague Children's Conventions and the Case for International Family Law in the United States

In our globalized world, as families form and dissolve across international borders, domestic family law does not adequately address the needs of parents and children with ties to multiple legal systems. For these cases, the Hague Children’s Conventions provide a useful legal framework developed and implemented through the cooperative efforts of more than one hundred nations. Currently, the United States participates in the 1980 Child Abduction Convention and the 1993 Intercountry Adoption Convention, and has taken steps toward ratification of the 2007 Family Maintenance Convention and the 1996 Child Protection Convention. The four Children’s Conventions offer an important opportunity for the United States to work collaboratively with other nations in building protections for vulnerable children and families in the United States and around the world.

This Article surveys the emerging Hague system of international family law, evaluates the United States’ participation in the Abduction and Adoption Conventions, and argues for ratification of the remaining conventions.