This guide is designed to assist federal and state judges in dealing with proceedings for the return of children under the 1980 Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction. Cases arising under the 1980 Convention present challenges to trial and appellate courts owing to unique legal concepts and the time-sensitive nature of the proceedings. This third edition of the guide keeps pace with the expanding number of federal and state decisions shaping the body of law that guides courts as they decide on matters involving international child abduction.

For supplemental entries to the monograph providing updates to the relevant case law (as of 2024), click here.