Child Abduction Legal Information

What should a parent do if they discover that their former partner has left the jurisdiction with or without their permission with a child but has learned that the parent has no intention of coming back with the child – what are the first steps a parent should take?

• Contact the other parent, friends or family;
• Seek the assistance of consular services (foreign affairs);
• Contact experienced counsel.
• Contact the police.
• Contact an ngo such as “the missing children society of Canada.”
• Try to identify the whereabouts of the child.
• If the child is in a Hague convention country contact the central authority to commence court proceedings for return.
• If the child is in a non-Hague abduction convention country seek voluntary return, custody proceedings in the foreign court, or “options requiring thinking outside the box.”