Challenges to the Involvement of the Child in International Child Abduction Mediation under the Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction

Abstract

The focus of this paper is on the provision in the Guide to Good Practice that encourages the involvement of the child in the mediation. Even though it is perceived that the child is entitled with the rights to be heard and even though there are benefits of getting the child involved in mediation, there are potential drawbacks or challenges that the authorities and practitioners need to be taken into consideration. What I argue in this paper is that in the very specific area of international child abduction mediation there are some challenges that might make the involvement of the child in mediation more problematic.