CAP. 177, INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION ACT

28 Pages·2001·0.06 MB·English

by  Chief Parliamentary Counsel

BELIZE
INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION ACT
CHAPTER 177
REVISED EDITION 2000
SHOWING THE LAW AS AT 31ST DECEMBER, 2000
This is a revised edition of the law, prepared by the Law Revision Commissioner
under the authority of the Law Revision Act, Chapter 3 of the Laws of Belize,
Revised Edition 1980 - 1990.
This edition contains a consolidation of the following laws- Page
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 3
INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION ACT 4
Amendments in force as at 31st December, 2000.
BELIZE
INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION ACT
CHAPTER 177
REVISED EDITION 2000
SHOWING THE LAW AS AT 31ST DECEMBER, 2000
This is a revised edition of the law, prepared by the Law Revision Commissioner
under the authority of the Law Revision Act, Chapter 3 of the Laws of Belize,
Revised Edition 1980 - 1990.
This edition contains a consolidation of the following laws- Page
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS 3
INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION ACT 4
Amendments in force as at 31st December, 2000.
International Child Abduction [CAP. 177 3
CHAPTER 177
INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
3. The Convention to have the force of law.
4. Contracting States.
S. Central Authority.
6. Judicial authority.
7. Interim powers.
8. Reports.
9. Proof of documents and evidence.
10. Declarations by Belize Family Court.
11. Authenticated English translation.
12. Costs of applications.
13. Regulations.
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SCHEDULE
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CAP. 177] International Child Abduction
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CHAPTER 177
CAP. 143A, INTERNATIONAL CHILD ABDUCTION
R.E. 1980-1990.
22 of 1989. [22nd August, 1989]
Short title. 1. This Act may be cited as the International Child Abduction Act.
Interpretation. 2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-
(a) “the Convention” means the Convention on the Civil
Aspects of International Child Abduction, which was signed
at The Hague on 25th October, 1980;
(b) “Minister” means the Minister for the time being responsible
for social services.
The Convention 3. Subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions of the Convention
to have the force set out in the Schedule to this Act shall have the force of law in Belize.
of law.
Schedule.
Contracting 4. For the purpose of the Convention, the Contracting States shall be
States. those for the time being specified by the Minister by Order published in the
Gazette.
Central 5. The functions under the Convention of a Central Authority shall be
Authority Discharged in Belize by the Minister.
Judicial authority. 6. The court having jurisdiction to entertain applications under the
Convention in Belize shall be the Belize Family Court established under the
CAP. 93. Family Courts Act.
Interim powers. 7. Where an application has been made to the Belize Family Court under
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International Child Abduction [CAP. 177 5
the Convention, that Court may, at any time before the application is determined,
give such interim directions as it thinks fit for the purpose of securing the welfare
of the child concerned or of preventing changes in the circumstances relevant to
the determination of the application.
8. Where the Minister is requested to provide information relating to a Reports.
child under Article 7 (d) of the Convention, or as to the law of Belize under
Article 7 (e) of the Convention, he may-
(a) request a local authority or a probation officer to make a
report to him in writing with respect to any matter which
appears to him to be relevant;
(b) request any court to which a written report relating to the child
has been made to send him a copy of the report;
(c) request the Attorney-General to provide information as to the
law of Belize in connection with the application of the
Convention,
and such a request shall be duly complied with.
9.-(1) For the purpose of Article 14 of the Convention, a decision or Proof of
determination of a judicial or administrative authority outside Belize may be documents and
proved by a duly authenticated copy of the decision or determination; and any evidence.
document purporting to be such a copy shall be deemed to be a true copy
unless the contrary is shown.
(2) For the purpose of subsection (1) above, a copy is duly
authenticated if it bears the seal, or is signed by a judge or officer, of the authority
in question.
(3) For the purposes of Articles 14 and 30 of the Convention, any
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CAP. 177] International Child Abduction
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such document as is mentioned in Article 8 of the Convention, or a certified
copy of any such document, shall be sufficient evidence of anything stated in it.
Declarations by 10. The Belize Family Court may, on an application made for the purposes
Belize Family of Article 15 of the Convention by any person appearing to that court to have
Court.
an interest in the matter, make a declaration that the removal of any child from,
or his retention outside, Belize was wrongful within the meaning of Article 3 of
the Convention.
Authenticated 11. Every application, communication or other document sent to the Central
English Authority of Belize under the Convention shall be in the original language and
translation.
shall be accompanied by an authenticated translation into English.
Costs of 12. All costs relating to applications under the Convention resulting from
application. the participation of legal counsel or advisers or from court proceedings shall
be borne by the applicants, except insofar as such costs may be covered by
the system of legal aid and advice obtaining in Belize.
Regulations. 13.-(1) The Minister may make regulations for the better carrying out of the
objects and purposes of this Act and the Convention.
(2) Any regulations made by the Minister under subsection (1) above
shall, as soon as may be after the making thereof, be laid before the National
Assembly and shall be subject to negative resolution.
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International Child Abduction [CAP. 177 7
SCHEDULE
[Section 3]
CONVENTION ON THE CIVIL ASPECTS OF INTERNATIONAL
CHILD ABDUCTION1
The States signatory to the present Convention,
Firmly convinced that the interests of children are of paramount importance in
matters relating to their custody,
Desiring to protect children internationally from the harmful effects of their
wrongful removal or retention and to establish procedures to ensure their prompt
return to the State of their habitual residence, as well as to secure protection for
rights of access,
Have resolved to conclude a Convention to this effect, and have agreed upon
the following provisions-
CHAPTER I - SCOPE OF THE CONVENTION
Article I
The objects of the present Convention are-
a. to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or
retained in any Contracting State; and
b. to ensure that rights of custody and of access under the law of o n e
Contracting State are effectively respected in the other Contracting States.
1 Extract from the Final Act of the Fourteenth Session of The Hague Conference on Private
International Law, October 25, 1980.
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CAP. 177] International Child Abduction
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Article 2
Contracting States shall take all appropriate measures to secure within their
territories the implementation of the objects of the Convention. For this purpose
they shall use the most expeditious procedures available.
Article 3
The removal or the retention of a child is to be considered wrongful where-
a. it is in breach of rights of custody attributed to a person, an
institution or any other body, either jointly or alone, under the law of the State
in which the child was habitually resident immediately before the removal or
retention; and
b. at the time of removal or retention those rights were actually exercised,
either jointly or alone, or would have been so exercised but for the removal or
retention.
The rights of custody mentioned in sub-paragraph a above may arise in particular
by operation of law or by reason of a judicial or administrative decision, or by
reason of an agreement having legal effect under the law of that State.
Article 4
The Convention shall apply to any child who was habitually resident in a
Contracting State immediately before any breach of custody or access rights.
The Convention shall cease to apply when the child attains the age of 16
years.
Article 5
For the purposes of this Convention-
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International Child Abduction [CAP. 177 9
a. “rights of custody” shall include rights relating to the care of the person
of the child and, in particular, the right to determine the child’s place of residence;
b. “rights of access” shall include the right to take a child for a limited
period of time to a place other than the child’s habitual residence.
CHAPTER II - CENTRAL AUTHORITIES
Article 6
A Contracting State shall designate a Central Authority to discharge the duties
which are imposed by the Convention upon such authorities.
Federal States, States with more than one system of law or States having
autonomous territorial organizations shall be free to appoint more than one
Central Authority and to specify the territorial extent of their powers. Where a
State has appointed more than one Central Authority, it shall designate the
Central Authority to which applications may be addressed for transmission to
the appropriate Central Authority within that State.
Article 7
Central Authorities shall co-operate with each other and promote cooperation
amongst the competent authorities in their respective States to secure the prompt
return of children and to achieve the other objects of this Convention.
In particular, either directly or through any intermediary, they shall take all
appropriate measures-
a. to discover the whereabouts of a child who has been wrongfully
removed or retained;
b. to prevent further harm to the child or prejudice to interested parties
by taking or causing to be taken provisional measures;
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CAP. 177] International Child Abduction
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c. to secure the voluntary return of the child or to bring about an amicable
resolution of the issues;
d. to exchange, where desirable, infomation relating to the social
background of the child;
e. to provide information of a general character as to the law of their
State in connection with the application of the Convention;
f. to initiate or facilitate the institution of judicial or administrative
proceedings with a view to obtaining the return of the child and, in a proper
case, to make arrangements for organizing or securing the effective exercise of
rights of access;
g. where the circumstances so require, to provide or facilitate the provision
of legal aid and advice, including the participation of legal counsel and advisers;
h. to provide such administrative arrangements as may be necessary and
appropriate to secure the safe return of the child;
i. to keep each other informed with respect to the operation of this
Convention and, as far as possible, to eliminate any obstacles to its application.
CHAPTER III - RETURN OF CHILDREN
Article 8
Any person, institution or other body claiming that a child has been removed
or retained in breach of custody rights may apply either to the Central Authority
of the child’s habitual residence or to the Central Authority of any other
Contracting State for assistance in securing the return of the child.
The application shall contain-
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