§ Sir John StanleyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department what amendments the Government are seeking to the September 2001 proposal for a Council regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matters of parental responsibility; and if it is the Government's policy that this Council regulation should take legal effect. [29531]
§ Mr. WillsThe Government support the underlying aim of this proposal—namely, to extend the principle of mutual recognition to all decisions on parental responsibility by establishing a clear and coherent set of rules for attributing jurisdiction, and putting in place arrangements for co-operation between the courts and central authorities of the member states. The Government are concerned to ensure that negotiations take full account of the operation of the 1980 Hague Convention on Child Abduction. Negotiations are still at an early stage, and it is too early to assess whether the proposal should be adopted by Ministers and incorporated into national legislation.