PURPOSE: to authorise certain Member States to accept,
in the interest of the European Union, the accession of Kazakhstan
to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International
Child Abduction.
PROPOSED ACT: Council Decision.
ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the Council adopts
the act after consulting the European Parliament but without being
obliged to follow its opinion.
BACKGROUND: the European Union has set as one of its
aims the promotion of the protection of the rights of the
child, as stated in Article 3 of the Treaty on European Union.
Measures for the protection of children against wrongful removal or
retention are an essential part of that policy.
As far as parental child abduction is concerned, the
1980 Hague Convention is the international counterpart of Council
Regulation No 2201/2003 (known as the Brussels IIa Regulation)
which is the cornerstone of EU judicial cooperation in matrimonial
matters and matters of parental responsibility. It complements and
reinforces the Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction which establishes, at
international level, a system of obligations and cooperation among
contracting States and between central authorities and aims to
ensure the prompt return of wrongfully removed or retained
children.
The 1980 Hague Convention has been ratified by 93
countries, including all EU Member States. The Convention
entered into force in Kazakhstan on 1 September 2013. Only the
Kingdom of the Netherlands has already accepted the accession of
Kazakhstan to the 1980 Hague Convention.
At the international level, the European Union
supports the accession of third States to the 1980 Convention
in order for its Member States to rely upon a common legal
framework to deal with international child abductions. An
assessment of the situation in Kazakhstan has led to the conclusion
that those Member States that have not yet accepted the accession
of Kazakhstan are in a position to accept, in the interest of the
Union, the accession of Kazakhstan under the terms of the 1980
Hague Convention.
CONTENT: this proposal for a Council Decision seeks to
ensure that the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of
International Child Abduction enters into force between the
Kazakhstan and all EU Member States.
The Member States that have not yet done so are hereby
authorised to accept the accession of Kazakhstan to the Hague
Convention. The Netherlands has already accepted the accession of
Kazakhstan to the 1980 Hague Convention and should therefore not
deposit a new declaration of acceptance as the existing declaration
remains valid under public international law.
Beside the general objective of developing judicial
cooperation in civil matters having cross-border implications, the
present proposal is linked to the general objective enshrined in
Article 3 of the Treaty on the European Union to protect the rights
of the child. The proposal is also consistent with the promotion of
the use of mediation in the settlement of cross-border family
disputes. The Directive
on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters
applies, among other matters, to family law within the common
European judicial area.
The United Kingdom and Ireland are bound by Regulation
(EC) No 2201/2003 and are therefore taking part in the adoption and
application of this Decision. Denmark, however, shall not be taking
part in it.