How Can a Child Abducted by a Foreign Spouse Be Taken Back?

The Hague Convention is applied to the 1980 Hague Convention on the Legal Aspects of International Child Abduction, regarding the recovery of children abducted by a foreign spouse in Turkey. This convention aims to combat child abductions by parents by providing a system of cooperation between central authorities that should be structured in all states parties and a speedy procedure for the child's return to his/her habitual residence.

In the event that a child habitually residing in a State party to the Hague Convention is abducted or detained in another State party to the convention, the competent authorities of the country where the child is located must promptly return the child to the country of habitual residence, except in a limited number of exceptional circumstances set forth in the Convention.

Since the element of illegality in the relocation of the child is based on the violation of the custody right granted under the laws in force in the state of the child's habitual residence, it is decided on the basis of habitual residence whether the state in which the child's return is requested is a situation that requires the extradition procedure. The habitual residence referred to in the Convention is the place that is the child's de facto center of life immediately prior to the specified relocation.

What is the Period for the Return of the Child?

Pursuant to The Hague Convention, if a child has been unlawfully relocated or detained and less than one year has elapsed since the removal or detention at the time of application to the judicial or administrative authority of the State party where the child is located, the appealed authority must decide on the child's prompt return. In this respect, the one-year period stipulated in the Convention does not constitute a period of disqualification. Because, upon applications made after this period, it is possible to decide on extradition by the authorities of the state party where the child is located.

For more information on the convention please see: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/full-text/?cid=28