§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list, by country, the number of child abduction cases dealt with by his Department which exceeded the six week deadline for a hearing(a) in each year since 1998 and (b) in 2002 to date. [76408]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonArticle 11 of the Hague Convention makes reference to a six week "deadline", but does not oblige courts to conclude a case within six weeks.
Information is not available in the format sought. The Child Abduction Unit only keeps figures for the last 2 years. The attached table details the average times 479W taken for countries to conclude cases from the time of referral to the date when the final court decision is made. The UK average conclusion time was 84 days in 2000 and 76 days in 2001.
Average length of time (days) in which Hague Convention cases are concluded in these countries from the date of referral to the date of the final court decision Country Year 2000 2001 Australia 121 35 Austria 140 * Belgium 198 * Canada 72 92 Cyprus * 131 France 99 141 Germany 127 115 Greece 96 350 Hong Kong 138 * Ireland 108 177 Italy 69 169 Netherlands 115 * New Zealand 115 * Poland 167 * Portugal 28 40 Romania * 235 South Africa 257 548 Spain 136 231 Sweden 98 372 Turkey * 62 USA 115 129 Venezuela * 309 Note:
* Where there is no data this could either be because there were no cases involving that country or that cases did not involve a final hearing eg Netherlands and New Zealand resolve many cases outside the court arena.
480W
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§ Sandra GidleyTo ask the Parliamentary Secretary, Lord Chancellor's Department if he will list by country the number of child abduction cases being dealt with by the Child Abduction Unit which have exceeded the six week deadline for a hearing and are awaiting a resolution. [76407]
§ Ms Rosie WintertonArticle 11 of the Hague Convention makes reference to a six week "deadline". This Article draws to the attention of Contracting States the urgency with which these proceedings should be dealt with. Article 11 does not oblige the courts to conclude a case within six weeks. Common delays are where the country in question is unable to locate the child or where additional enquiries are necessary to assist the court in their decision.
The Child Abduction Unit currently has 105 cases outstanding where children have been wrongfully removed to, or retained in, other Hague Convention countries. Without examining each case it is impossible to say exactly how many of these cases have exceeded the six week period, but it will be the vast majority.