§ Sir John StanleyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if it is his Department's policy that legal aid should be provided under the terms of Regulation 14 (1) of the Civil Legal Aid (General) Regulations 1989 to overseas citizens whose Governments fail to provide legal aid on the same terms to UK citizens in child abduction cases; and if he will make a statement. [32074]
§ Mr. HoonIt is the Government's policy that any person whose case is accepted by the Central Authority under the Hague or European Child Abduction Conventions will receive legal aid. This is because of the vital importance of cases affecting the residence of children litigated before the English and Welsh courts. The availability of legal aid in other countries is not considered. The award of legal aid to foreign nationals is perfectly proper under the terms of the existing legal aid scheme. Many applicants under the Conventions are United Kingdom citizens.
§ Sir John StanleyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list in respect of each country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention on Child Abduction, the number of cases where the judicial or administrative authority of the requested state has(a) ordered the return of the abducted child and (b) declined to order the return of the abducted child when requested to do so by the UK Central Authority. [31932]
§ Mr. HoonHague Convention cases are not recorded separately. For the calendar year 1997, the outcome of applications by the Central Authority for England and Wales under the 1980 Hague and European Child Abduction Conventions is shown in the table.
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Central authority for England and Wales Outcome of applications made in 1997 Country Total applications Judicial return Judicial refusal Cases resolved other than by court order Pending Argentina 1 — — — 1 Australia 9 5 — 2 2 Belgium 2 — — 1 1 Bosnia 1 — — — 1 Canada 3 — — 1 2 Colombia 1 — — — 1 Croatia 1 — — — 1 Cyprus 2 — — — 2 Denmark 4 1 — 2 1 France 16 1 1 8 6
Central authority for England and Wales Outcome of applications made in 1997 Country Total applications Judicial return Judicial refusal Cases resolved other than by court order Pending Germany 16 1 — 5 10 Greece 5 — — 3 2 Hong Kong 2 — — 1 1 Ireland 49 13 — 26 10 Israel 2 1 — 1 — Italy 8 1 — 3 4 Mauritius 1 — — 1 — Mexico 1 — — 1 — Netherlands 6 — — 5 1 New Zealand 9 4 2 3 — Norway 1 — — — 1 Poland 2 — — 2 — Portugal 2 — — 1 1 Spain 13 1 — 3 9 Sweden 4 2 — 2 — Switzerland 3 — — 1 2 U.S.A. 41 5 — 20 16 Total 205 35 3 93 74 Notes:
Table includes only cases received between 1 January 1997 and 31 December 1997. Applications are applications for return and access made under the Hague European Conventions.
§ Sir John StanleyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list(a) the number of unresolved cases of child abduction from the United Kingdom, (b) the countries in which the children concerned are believed to be residing and (c) the number of children concerned in each country. [31933]
§ Mr. HoonApplications made by the Central Authority for England and Wales in cases under the Hague and European Conventions which were pending on 26 January 1998, the latest date for which figures are available, are shown in the table. Hague Convention applications are not recorded separately. Cases may involve more than one child. It is not possible to identify unresolved cases in respect of non-Convention countries.
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Central Authority for England and Wales Applications under the Hague and European Conventions Cases Pending—26 January 1998 Countries Argentina 1 Australia 3 Belgium 2 Bosnia 2 Canada 5 Colombia 1 Cyprus 4 Denmark 3 France 14 Germany 17 Greece 5 Hong Kong 1 Ireland (Rep. of) 15 Italy 4 Mexico 1 Netherlands 2 New Zealand 2 Norway 2
Central Authority for England and Wales Applications under the Hague and European Conventions Cases Pending—26 January 1998 Countries Portugal 1 Slovenia 1 Spain 15 Switzerland 2 U.S.A. 28 Total 131