FAMILY LAW (CHILD ABDUCTION CONVENTION) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 344

FAMILY LAW (CHILD ABDUCTION CONVENTION) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 344

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 344

Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General

Family Law Act 1975

Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations (Amendment)

Regulation 125(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 (the Act) empowers the Governor-General to make regulations for the purposes of the Act.

Section 111B of the Act provides that the regulations may make such provision as is necessary to enable Australia to perform its obligations under the 1980 Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction (the Convention).

The objects of the Convention are to secure the prompt return of children wrongfully removed to or retained in any Convention country, and to ensure that rights of custody and access to children under the laws of a Convention country are effectively respected in the other Convention countries. On 22 April 1986, the Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations were made to give effect to the Convention for Australia.

Proposed Regulation 2 would extend the list of countries in Schedule 2 of the Regulations by specifying Finland, Chile and Slovenia as additional Convention countries in respect of which the Convention has entered into force for Australia.

The inclusion of Slovenia in the Regulations ensures that all the territory of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is now covered by the Regulations. This process fulfills an undertaking given by the Attorney-General's Department to the Senate Standing Committee on Regulations and Ordinances that an amendment to add Slovenia to the Regulations would be made once official notification of that country's accession to the Convention was received.

A further amendment is required to Item 32 in Schedule 2: "Panama". At the time of its accession to the Convention, Panama made a reservation pursuant to Article 24 in which it objected to the use of the French language in any written communications to its Central Authority. Panama has now withdrawn that reservation and Schedule 2 must be amended accordingly.