Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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FAMILY LAW (CHILD ABDUCTION CONVENTION) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1998 NO. 59

STATUTORY RULES 1998 No. 59

Issued by the Authority of the Attorney-General

Family Law Act 1975

Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations (Amendment)

Subsection 125(1) of the Family Law Act 1975 (the Act) empowers the GovernorGeneral to make Regulations prescribing all matters necessary to be prescribed 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, or obtain any advantage or benefit, under the 1980 Hague 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 lights of custody and access to children under the laws of a Convention country are effectively respected in the other Convention countries.

Australia signed and ratified the Convention on 25 October 1986, and the Convention came into force for Australia on 1 January 1987.

The purpose of the Regulations is to add the Czech Republic to the list of Convention countries in Schedule 2 of the Family Law (Child Abduction Convention) Regulations. The Czech Republic deposited its instrument of ratification with the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs on 15 December 1997. Therefore, in accordance with Article 43, paragraph 2, the Child Abduction Convention entered into force between Australia and the Czech Republic on 1 March 1998.

Details of the Regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 is formal.

Regulation 2 amends Schedule 2 of the Regulations to insert details relating to the Czech Republic, including the provisions of the Convention in respect of which the Czech Republic has made reservations. The Czech Republic has entered a reservation under Article 26 (third paragraph) of the Convention excluding its liability for legal costs arising from court proceedings except insofar as those costs may be covered by its legal aid system.

The Regulations commenced on gazettal.

Authority: Section 125 of the Family Law Act 1975