Rule on International Child Abduction Cases

This Rule, issued in 2022 in a resolution by the Court en banc, “shall apply to all international child abduction and retention cases in accordance with The Hague Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction of 1980 (HCAC), provided that 1the HCAC has entered into force between the Philippines and the other Contracting State” (Section 1).

As Section 2 states regarding the purpose of the Rule:

The objective of this Rule is to protect children from the harmful effects of wrongful removal or retention across international boundaries by providing an expeditious procedure designed to bring about the prompt return1 of such children to the state or country of their habitual residence, based on the presumption that, save in exceptional circumstances, such wrongful removal or retention is not in the best interests of the child. The prompt return of the child is designed to restore the status of the parties which existed before such wrongful removal or retention. This Rule also aims to ensure that 1rights of custody and of access under the laws of the state or country of the child’s habitual residence are effectively respected.